Jade of the Night
by Aurien
Summary: The new girl is different, but why do Scott and Jean seem to know her? ENTIRE STORY BEING REVISED. CHAPTER SIXTEEN TO COME SOON!
1. Prologue

_**This entire story is in the process of being revised, as it is very dated and several details need work. Hopefully, it will flow a bit better with these revisions.**_

_Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men, I'm just borrowing it.

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**Jade of the Night: Prologue **

With heavy clouds covering the otherwise full moon, darkness had shrouded New York City. The rain was pounding down hard on the cracked concrete, creating tiny streams in the gutters that ran down the streets and into garbage filled storm drains. An eerie silence hung over the usually bustling area.

A sleek, black car came down the unoccupied street, and parked before a very old, yellow town house. Two dark figures emerged. A nearby street lamp flickered on and off with a slight buzzing sound as they hurried up the steps towards the rough, brown door. The building's paint was peeling and roof shingles were coming off. Many of the broken windows had either been patched up with duct tape or left open to the cool night air. It seemed hardly a place to live, or to raise a child.

One of the two figures looked around, scanning the area, making sure that they were alone before he knocked. He was tall and lean, with an air of mystery surrounding him. Fat raindrops rolled down his forehead and over his dark red shades. His companion, a light-skinned, auburn haired woman, checked on the thick bundle she held in her arms; the small, pale child was deep asleep.

"Knock again, someone has to be awake." the woman said, a hint of exasperation in her voice.

The man rapped on the old wooden door once more. Nothing.

The woman looked at the child in her arms. She ran her finger over the baby's smooth, petite cheek. The child wasn't more than a few weeks old with reddish-brown 'peach fuzz' covering her small head. The man looked to his companion and then the child.

"I can't do this."

"You have to. We have to." the man said, looking her in the eye, "Imagine the kind of life she'd live if we kept her, the kind of things she'd have to go through growing up, the pain she'd have to experience."

"We can protect her."

"For a little while, maybe, but after that? After he finds out? We are saving her life this way. We are doing this for her."

The woman held back tears as she gazed lovingly at the child; "Try again."

He knocked yet again and waited.

A silent tear broke from the woman's eye and streamed down her cheek, "Scott -"

From inside, the sound of footsteps on an old, hardwood floor drew closer. The aging, rusty locks were being undone from the inside. Slowly, a small, plump woman in a blue bathrobe with matching curlers poked her head out of the door, a nightstick clearly visible in her hand, "Who's there? You keep this up and I'll call the police!" - but no one was there. All she could hear was the distant sound of a car speeding away across the wet pavement.

"Who's there?" she asked into the darkness.

The street light flickered once more and went out. Something caught her eye and she looked down. On the top step sat a small, thick bundle of heavy blankets. Inside lie a small, sleeping child making a coo-like sound. Next to her was a yellow shoebox taped shut with packaging tape.

The woman quickly leaned down, the bones in her back cracking loudly, and picked the baby up. She could tell that the infant was no more than four, possibly five, months old. "Why, hello there little one," she said, rocking the child in her arms, "Where'd you come from?"

The woman looked around once again, but to no avail.

"Well, then. Come, let's warm you up, it's chilly outside."

The woman slid the box inside with a slippered foot, then closed the door, careful not to wake the infant as she reset the rusty locks and tip-toed back across the creaky floors. She held the baby close to her, smiling softly, "You're going to be just fine."


	2. Chapter 1: Secrets Don't Last Forever

_**This chapter has been heavily revised. Most of the changes will be found in the character/personality/traits/etc. of Gwen, our lovely protagonist. This has been done so that she will no longer be little goth girl. Changes and revisions have been/eventually will be made to the entire story in general.**_

_Disclaimer: Stan Lee is the evil genius behind the X-Men, but I am a consultant . . . just kidding.

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**Jade of the Night: Chapter 1: Secrets Don't Last Forever**

"Gwen! Breakfast time!"

"I'm not hungry."

"You need to eat!"

"No, I don't."

The old woman groaned under her breath as pancake batter sizzled on the griddle. A lot had changed over the past sixteen years. The orphanage had definitely gotten a much needed makeover, thanks to the generosity of the city. With the renovation came new maple flooring throughout the entire four story building, new paint replaced the 'groovy' orange wallpaper from the sixties and new windows were put in place of the cracked ones. There were brand new appliances and a new heating/cooling system was installed. To finish it off, the roof had been fixed up and the exterior repainted to a rather welcoming shade of blue.

The loving feeling that Beatrice Simon, the same woman who had run the place since she was twenty, gave to each of the children had never changed.

"Gwen, your breakfast will get cold! Come out, please!"

"I - I can't!"

"Bea, do you want me to get her?" one of the older teens, Jack, asked.

"No, Jack, I think I can get her out." Beatrice said, "Gwen, if you don't come out right now, I'll go in there!"

Silence filled the massive dining room as those that had woken early for school stared at the dark brown door that led to Gwen's dimly room. The old woman smiled and turned to the kids, "She'll be out in no time, don't worry." Those sitting around the table exchanged smiles. Gwen wasn't exactly a morning person, and this was an almost daily routine. Beatrice turned back to her pancakes and started flipping. The knob of Gwen's door began to wobble and slowly the door opened.

A young woman of sixteen years emerged. She was tall, about 5 foot 8 inches, and walked with an awkward kind of grace. Her hair was a fading shade of dyed black, with hints of her natural browns and auburns here and there when the light hit it just right. It hung, unbrushed, over her pale face, shadowing the dark sunglasses that she wore everyday. Her clothes were loose and slightly disheveled, as though she had only just rolled out of bed. Her sockless feet shuffled slowly over the hardwood floor. She clear did not care about her general appearance, but gave off the feeling that she might just punch you in the face if you made any kind of comment.

Gwen was kind of a mystery child in the orphanage. She was one of the two oldest kids there, and was constantly looked over for adoption, as it had been for most of her life. None of the younger kids knew much about her, and many were too scared to ask. She had gone through a kind of regressive transformation about three or four years prior, around the time she was twelve. It was during this time that she had come to realize that she would never be adopted. She went from being a once happy, exuberant little girl to being a moody, quiet young woman, almost at the drop of a hat. She began to doubt herself a lot and her self-esteem was never the same has it once had been. Usually rather reserved, she became angry and resentful, often lashing out at people for the simplest of things. Her disposition wasn't the only thing to change - her clothes, her interests, even her sleeping habits had all changed as well. That was also the time she started wearing her sunglasses. No one knew why she wore those glasses, but they didn't bother to ask her. When asked, she claimed that she was very sensitive to light and the glasses reduced the impact of light on her eyes. There was another reason, the real reason, pertaining to why she wore those sunglasses, and it was one that Gwen rather strongly hoped they would never learn of.

"Here, Gwen, take my seat." Jack said as he stood up.

"Thanks." Gwen said quietly as she sat down.

"Good morning my dear!" Bea said cheerfully, placing a plate of pancakes, eggs and sausages before the teen.

"Thanks, Bea."

"Pull your hair back, please, before it gets in your food." she said reaching for Gwen's dark locks. Gwen tried to retaliate, but it was no use, the damage was done. Bea let out a horrified gasp as an enormous black and purple bruise was revealed on Gwen's left cheek.

"Not again . . ." she sighed, pulling Gwen into her room and closing the door, "What happened?"

"It was them again. They cornered me. I didn't have a chance."

"Why didn't you use your . . . mutation?" Bea asked, her reluctance to use the word was obvious.

"That would have only provoked them even more. Why should I give them more arsenal against me?"

"Did you - ?"

"Fight back? I tried, but there were too many of them. There were fists flying at me from every direction, how was I to know where to throw a punch?"

"Did you go to the police?" Bea asked, exasperated, "This is a hate crime!"

"Yea, go to the police and say that I have been a victim of a hate crime. What sympathy are they going to give to a white girl claiming she's the victim of racism or sexism or whatever? None." Gwen retorted, she'd had this conversation way too many times for comfort, "I know what you're thinking, but exposing myself would have been a bad plan, too. Police are all around a bad idea."

Bea sighed, she knew trying to argue with Gwen would only anger the girl, so she gave up, "How bad is it?"

Gwen pulled up her sleeves, revealing several bruises and heavily bandaged areas. There were more on her torso and legs, as well. Neither of the women spoke. It had been nearly four years since Gwen had found out that she was different, that she was a mutant. Not knowing how the other students would react, both her and Bea kept it a secret. But secrets don't last for long. Classmates from school found out within two years and began to stalk her. Soon enough they began to beat her. These weren't just your normal bad-ass kids trying to find trouble. These people were jocks, classmates, peers, friends, even the boy she had liked. It was soon after that when she changed in hopes of blending into the background and becoming unnoticed by those hateful eyes. The truth behind her usual silence was fear. She was scared to wake up each day, knowing that she would be taunted for every breath she drew. It was her against her high school, and she felt as though it wouldn't be long before the kids at the orphanage would turn on her as well.


	3. Chapter 2: The Discovery

_**The original chapter 2 (formerly 3) was clearly a very poor filler chapter, so it has been combined with chapter 3 (formerly 4) and chapter 4 (formerly 5) to make it less pointless. I have also cut out as many of the clichés as physically possible because these early chapters were riddled with them, and, well, clichés suck. One more thing - for those of you who have read this story before, you will notice that a once major plot point - the beating and hint to her mutation - has been removed. This was done for a reason, I promise. The abusive jocks and emo dialogue were two of the many clichés that I decided to remove, trust me with this one.**_

_Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men, I'm just borrowing it._

_

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_**Jade of the Night: Chapter 2: The Discovery**

Gwen she sat quietly in her room as Bea called the school from the kitchen phone. Her cheekbone and jaw ached, and her head was throbbing like mad. The night before, her attackers had slammed some unknown, but heavy, object against the back of her head, probably in hopes of killing her. Her eyesight had gone fuzzy and gray, probably as a result to the hit to her head. The pain was worse than she had feared it would be. The last place she wanted to be was at school, where she would have to face those that had inflicted all of this pain upon her, those people that had once been her friends.

"Yes, this is Beatrice Simon, with the Bankor Group Home." Gwen heard Bea say into the receiver, "Yes, Beatrice Simon. I am calling about one of our children here, Gwen. Hm-mm, she is feeling a little under the weather today and won't be coming in. Yes, she will have a note when she comes back. Alright, thank you. You have a good day now, good-bye."

"How bad is she, Bea?" Jack asked from the kitchen table, clearly worried.

"Yes, she'll be fine. She just needs some time to rest." Bea reassured the heavy-set sixteen-year-old, "Now should hurry up or you'll miss the bus."

"Bye, Bea," he said, then popped his head in Gwen's room, "I hope you feel better."

"Thanks." she replied, rubbing her cheek.

He winked and ran off, grabbing his backpack and sprinting out the door.

"Well," Gwen asked as she waved good-bye, "What do I do now?"

"You are staying here and resting, nothing else."

"That's fine, I suppose."

"I am going to be running some errands and I don't want you wandering around. When I said you were going to rest, Gwen, I meant it." Bea said, her voice stern.

"You don't have to worry about me." Gwen replied quietly.

"I always do." Bea said, "For four years, I've spent every waking moment worrying about you. Nothing will change that, not if society has anything to do with it. I dread what will happen if that awful Senator Kelly gets that Registration Act passed in Washington."

"You have better things to do than worry about me."

Bea sighed; "You rest up. I won't be gone long."

"I'll be fine." Gwen answered, to which she received a hesitant smile. The old women left the room and closed the door. Gwen gently lowered herself onto her pillow, her mind racing with thoughts that refused to settle for the most immeasurable amount of time. She knew that Bea meant well, but that wasn't enough to erase what had happened, and had been happening for what felt like forever. Ever since the accident, ever since she'd been exposed as a mutant in front of all those people, she'd lived in fear. She was scared to go to school everyday, knowing what lie in wait for her there. Her lack of trust had helped her out before, but she did not know how long it would continue to do so. In spite of its helpfulness, learning not to trust anyone had taken its toll on Gwen. Her mentality made her very suspicious and had even sent her through anger management classes at the age of fifteen. She trusted one person and one person alone - Bea, the woman who raised her. Physically, she could inflict some damage if necessary, but was not strong enough to fend off anyone with an intent to kill.

She wanted out. She wanted to leave. She was tired of waking up and being too scared to get out of bed. She had laid out her options many times, and figured out where she might end up if she continued along that path. What she saw in her own future frightened her even more than her peers did - she saw herself becoming a wrathful, vengeful person when all she really wanted was to find peace. Peace, however pleasing to the mind, would never be possible, not while she was a mutant in this day and age. There had to be another way.

She did know of a place, up north, where she might be able to go, where she might find refuge. With her luck, though, the place would probably turn out to be an urban legend. Yet, there was a glimmer of hope in her mind that was tangible, that it existed, and that it was waiting, beckoning for her.

With that, she removed her sunglasses, rolled onto her side and fell asleep.

Gwen woke up several hours later, feeling significantly better. The pain had defiantly gone down, but her eyesight was still pretty bad - gray and fuzzy. Bea said that it would probably never go back to normal. As bad as it was, she could be grateful that she wasn't in the hospital or in a wheelchair or anything extreme like that.

She could hear Bea outside in the kitchen, roaming around, putting dishes away and stuff to that effect. By the sounds of Bea's rummaging through the cupboards, Gwen could tell that it would be little while longer until the kids got home from school, most of them wondering how Gwen was doing. Jack would be the worst. As the oldest boy, he had always felt that it was his duty to take care of everyone.

Sure enough, within twenty minutes, the sound of the front door opening and closing could be heard. Voices broke through the silence. Footsteps thundered up the stairs. Muffled conversations started up in the kitchen. The fridge opened. Glasses clanked. It was a daily routine, but for Gwen it was strange to experience it on the outside, listening in. She knew what would come next, though, that was out of the ordinary. In the anticipation, she closed her eyes, and waited.

It wasn't before long that a soft knock came at her door. By the sound of it, she knew it was Jack.

"Come on in." she said.

"Hey, Gwen, how are you feeling?" Jack asked, his worry sincere, as he closed the door behind him. The afternoon sun cast a slight glow through Gwen's curtains across her room to where Jack stood. Looking at him, she couldn't help but feel distanced from him. She'd known him since they were nine, when he came after the death of his parents in a car accident. Their bond was undeniable, yet he still did not know what Gwen was. She hated to keep it from him, but she knew that it was for his own good.

Gwen sighed; "Better, definitely better." she replied truthfully.

"That's good. I was worried about you."

"Did Bea tell you what happened?"

"She didn't have to."

"You can flick on the light, Jack, and sit down."

He reached over and flipped the light switch. The overhead light flickered on and off for a moment then stayed, illuminating the room with a yellow light. Jack grabbed a chair and pulled it closer to Gwen's bed as she sat up.

"So," she started, looking up at him, "did I miss anything terribly exciting?"

"And you suddenly care - why?" he replied, adjusting himself in the chair.

"I'm making conversation. Work with me here."

Jack looked up at Gwen to respond, but said nothing. He sat there, eyes wide, staring at Gwen. He attempted to speak, but found that that he could not formulate any coherent words.

"Jack?" Gwen asked, "What's wrong? What did I do?"

Jack pointed to his face in response; "C'mon, Jack," Gwen said with a wave of her hand, "the bruise isn't that bad. I've had worse, you know that."

"It's not your bruise, Gwen." he finally said.

"What are you talking about?"

"Do you want to explain those!" he cried, clearly angered. Gwen's hands shot to her face. To her horror, she realized that her sunglasses were not on their usual nasal perch. She had forgotten to put them on.

Due to her mutation, Gwen's eyes, once deep green in colour, had turned to a misty shade of mint green, including the pupil. They were enough to send a shiver down anyone's spine, which was partly why she hid them. They were also a sign of who, of what, she really was - a mutant. Those sunglasses had been one of her only defenses against the hatred and animosity that surrounded her. That seemingly insignificant pair of sunglasses had shielded the one thing that gave away her true self to everyone else. They helped to protect her from what was happening to her at that very moment.

Jack reached over to her nightstand and grabbed the glasses with a tight, though shaky, grip. He looked at the glasses in his hands, refusing to look into Gwen's fearfully pale eyes; "So this is why you wore these? To hide that?"

Reflexively, Gwen threw her hands over her eyes in a sad attempt to hide them, but it was far too late. She could feel the tears welling up, but did nothing to stop them. She was so ashamed, and Jack's anger only made it worse. After all that time, only to have her cover blown by something so trivial. She hated herself for it.

"Gwen," Jack said quietly, "how could you do this! Why didn't you tell me? Why, Gwen, why?"

"Jack - " Gwen started, but that's as far as she got. Jack hastily stood, knocking the chair over onto the floor. She had never seen him so angry. He was shaking all over. Gwen grabbed his arm, trying to find his eyes, but he turned away.

"Jack, please, listen to me!" Gwen cried desperately, "It's me, it's Gwen! The same Gwen you've known since you were nine! I'm not any different."

"Yes, you are." Jack said coolly, "You're one of _them_."

He turned to Gwen, his gray eyes narrowed into slits. He looked at Gwen with utter resentment. He ripped his arm out of her grip and headed for the door. As he turned the knob, he looked at the sunglasses once more before throwing them to the floor, as though they were a piece of garbage. He left the room, slamming the door behind him.

The tears cascaded over her lids and trickled down her ashen cheeks with no guards to hold them back. She let them stream down, knowing full well that it was pointless to attempt to deny them.

"I'm so sorry, Jack." she whispered to the emptiness that surrounded her, "I'm so sorry."

Bea came bursting through the door, but Gwen did not even flinch; "What's happened!"

Gwen did not have to answer for Bea to realize what had happened. With a gasp, she brought her hand to her lips, trying to find the proper words to console the young woman on the floor. Her search was in great vain.

"Gwen," she began, but did not know what else to say. She had tried to be with the girl ever since her mutation manifested, tried to console her, but it was in that moment, when she was needed most, that Bea knew that she could no longer help.

Gwen turned her sallow gaze towards Bea, and spoke only four short words, but it was those words that would sear through Bea like a hot knife. Four little words that would change everything.

In a quiet, hushed voice, Gwen said was all she needed to say -

"_I can't stay here_."

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**_I hope all of you that have been reading this fic for a while approve of the changes. Any input is appreciated. Thanks for your continued reading._**


	4. Chapter 3: The School for the Gifted

Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men; I'm just borrowing it. 

A/N: Oops, I didn't realize that that was a cliffhanger. Sorry. Hope you like this one. The little '' doohickeys go around thoughts (I'm not sure if the italics will show up). 

I 'M SORRY THIS TOOK ME FOREVER, I ACTUALLY HAVE A LIFE! I know, it surprises me as well . . . ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Everything was ready.

Bea had made the call and they knew Gwen was coming. 

Any stuff she needed most was packed into her small duffel bag. 

It had been four days since the kids had found out. Most of them had begun to ignore her, not because they disliked mutants, but because Gwen had lied to them. This really pissed Gwen off because most of them were too young to even understand the situation. She knew Jack was behind it. Some still talked to her though, but not many.

Gwen looked around one last time; everything was dark. It was 11:30 on a school night so, naturally, everyone was asleep. She sighed, it would probably be her last time seeing the only home she had ever known. 

She was supposed to leave in the morning, so that Bea could say good-bye, but good-byes had never come to Gwen easily. She decided to leave in the silence of the night, avoiding any last minute thoughts and heartbreaks. 

Gwen walked up the stairs and stopped about halfway. She turned and grabbed a picture off the wall. Behind it was a rather large hole in the wall with boxes, books, albums and other things inside. It was all of the kids' papers and documents, keepsakes, and old toys. Gwen grabbed an old shoe box that was falling apart, with attempted reinforcement of duct tape. She opened the lid and inside were numerous papers of importance. She quickly and quietly replaced the picture and placed the box in her hideous bag.

She quietly opened the large front door, making sure to not let it squeak. She locked it and walked down to the car. It was the car that sixteen year olds learned to drive in. Bea had agreed to let her claim possession of the blue 1998 Volvo with a large dent in the front bumper. She started the engine and slammed on the accelerator, speeding into the night. Gwen drove as fast as she could, not wanting to look back. She didn't want to hold on to anything.

After nearly an hour and a half of driving, she reached a large, older looking building. Gwen drove through the open gates and parked in front of the main door, trying to be as silent as was possible. She grabbed her duffel from the passenger seat and got out, locking and gently shutting the door. She stood there, gazing up at the massive building. The windows were dark and there was no sign of anyone. She walked up the stairs to the front door, still staring at the new surroundings. She held her hand up to knock, but she hesitated, her mind was telling her to run. _'Go back. Forget about this place. You don't belong here.' _a little voice taunted inside her head, _'You won't be accepted, no one will look after you. You are just an insignificant part of this world.'_

Gwen stopped - Was that true? No, it couldn't be. This would be the place where she'd be able to get away from the pain, the hurt, the hatred that had stained her mind. It was the only thing that she had wanted, to be accepted again, to have friends. She wanted to feel safe, the one thing that Bea had always wanted to help her with, but couldn't.

__

'You will never feel safe again.' the voice taunted.

Gwen hesitated. It was true, she didn't feel safe anymore - she hadn't known that feeling for a long, long time.

__

'You should go. Turn back.'

"I don't want to."

__

'Go. These people will only add to your pain.'

She turned around, taking one step, but then stopping. She had almost given in. She reached into the pocket of her sweatshirt, and grabbed something silver that glistened in the moonlight. She flicked it and in one swift motion a blade appeared. Her eyes looked to her wrist, she could just make out a pink scar, a scar she had made in the final desperation to rid herself of it all. They were all the way down her arm, the scars, though she normally covered them with long sleeves and arm warmers.

__

'Go back, go back home.' the voice beckoned. 

Gwen hesitated, but suddenly she flicked the knife and placed it back in her pocket. "No." Gwen said as she turned around and knocked on the door.

__

'Don't do this.' 

"Go away." Gwen ordered.

__

'You shouldn't - '

"Now."

__

'Just remember my words.'

She was just about to knock again when she heard a smooth, mechanical-type sound from inside. The door opened and a man in wheelchair appeared. He didn't seem in the least bit tired, this surprised Gwen, seeing as how late it was - just about 1:00 AM. His face was a welcoming one. 

"Gwen, welcome." the man said shaking her hand. 

"I apologize for being so late." 

The man nodded, "Good-byes have never been easy for me either." 

Gwen looked at him, shocked; he smiled and continued, "It's perfectly alright, we were expecting you. I am Professor Charles Xavier." 

"Um, is it okay that my car is there? I wasn't sure where to put it. I can move it if you want me to." 

"It's no problem at all. Now, if you follow me, I'll show you to where you'll be spending the night." 

Xavier turned around, Gwen walked in and closed the door, and followed him. He showed her to a dark room that was furnished with the normal fixtures of an office, a desk, a couple chairs, bookshelf, stuff like that. But what threw Gwen off was a large chalk board behind the desk with funny looking drawings on it. Especially, how in the corner was a fold-out bed with fresh blankets, sheets and two pillows. 

"I apologize for not giving you a more expectable room for your first night, but because you arrived so late . . ." 

"Oh, it's no problem. This is just fine." Gwen said, looking around the room. 

Xavier smiled, "Yes, Gwen, this is an office." 

Gwen wheeled around, a surprised look on her face. 

"Mine to be exact." 

"How? What? Um . . . How did you?" 

Xavier smiled, "I'm telepathic. I can read minds." 

"Oh. Okay. I feel better now." Gwen said as she set her bag down on one of the blue chairs and walked over to the window. The light reflected off of her sunglasses and illuminated her bruise. Xavier cringed as she cracked her knuckles rather loudly. He quickly ran through her thoughts. They were filled with emotion. A longing to feel safe, to have friends, to be rid of pain. He pulled out of her mind and gazed at her, there was no need to be scared now - she was safe.

He quickly moved himself to another subject. "You'll be moved to your room tomorrow, I hope you don't mind sharing a room with a few other girls your age." 

"Sure, it's no problem. I'm used to it." 

Suddenly a woman walked in. She had light skin and (from what Gwen could tell - it was dark) auburn hair. 

"Professor, Scott and Storm are back, they have them." 

"Good, very good. Gwen, I'm sorry for having to cut this short, I'll send someone for you in the morning. I hope your comfortable." 

"I'll be fine."

The two began to turn and leave, "Professor?"

Xavier turned to face Gwen, "Yes?"

Gwen walked up to him, "Thanks, for everything. This is really, well, - "

"Gwen, it's my pleasure, I hope you learn to love this place as many others have before you. Now, you should get some rest."

Gwen smiled and closed the door behind them. She took off her sunglasses and looked around. The light coming in from outside was faint, but it was better than turning on the lights. Ever since she'd gotten attacked in front of the school, her eyesight slowly began to fail. She could still see, but it was difficult and most objects far away were fuzzy. Any sudden flash of light gave her an instant migraine. The thought of getting prescription sunglasses had crossed her mind, but it was too expensive.

She slipped on her pajama bottoms and got in the bed, pulling the blankets over and up to her chin. She tossed and turned, trying to get comfortable, but it was difficult. She sat up, feeling that it would be impossible to get any sleep. She reached into her pocket and grabbed the knife. She pulled the blade out, she could see a faint line of dried blood along it's sharp edge. After some hesitation, she pushed the blade back and put it back in her pocket. 

She sighed.

__

'You shouldn't - ' the voice began.

"Don't even think about it."

__

'Maybe another time.' it muttered as it started to fade.

Gwen rolled her eyes, "Whatever."

__

'Could I just . . . ?'

"What do you th-?" Gwen paused, just realizing that she was having a ridiculous argument with herself, "Wait, the hell am I doing?"

__

'I think - '

"Don't answer that."

__

'Okay . . . '

"I'm so pathetic."

__

'Just a little.'

"Will you shut up?!"


	5. Chapter 4: New Friends and A New Start

_Disclaimer: I own nadda, make zippo. _

A/N: I hope you guys liked the last chapter, if not, whatever. If so, cookies to you! Oh, and this chapter, sorry it took forever, working on other stuff . . .

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A shorter, slender woman slowly opened the door to Professor Xavier's office. Inside, in the far corner, lay a fold out bed with a girl curled up on her side. Her long, black hair was obscuring her pale features. The woman could see Gwen's steady breathing as the hair over her face slowly rose and fell with every inhalation she took. She slowly approached the teen, not wanting to frighten her. "Gwen?" the woman said as she placed her hand on the girl's arm.

Gwen opened her eyes, and, for a moment, forgot where she was. Starting to panic, she shot out of the bed. She didn't get too far though, an instant throbbing in her head made her sit back down, holding her head in pain. "Are you all right?" the woman asked gently, squatting down in front of Gwen. "I think so. It's just a headache, I've been getting them a lot lately."

"I'm sorry if I startled you."

Gwen slowly looked up at the woman's pleasant looking face. Her white hair fell down over her shoulders and greatly contrasted with her smooth, brown skin. There was a sweetness in her big brown eyes that made Gwen feel comfortable – as comfortable as she could feel. There was something about her that Gwen automatically liked. "Oh, it's no big deal, I just forgot where I was for a minute there. I got here this morning."

"I heard about that." The woman smiled. At first glance, everything about this stranger seemed so perfect – _'Why?'_ she wondered, _'Why can't my life be happy? The way hers seems to be?'_ Then, for the bazillionth time, it hit her hard – _'Nothing about my life has been, is, or ever will be perfect.'_

"By the way, my name is Storm." She said holding out her hand. Gwen rose and took it, absentmindedly running her fingers through her hair – a weak attempt to make herself look presentable, but at the moment, it was all she could do. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Storm."

"I'm sorry for waking you so early, given that you came so late, but the Professor needs his office."

"Oh, geez . . . "Gwen replied looking down at the things she'd simply thrown on the floor without a second thought, "I wasn't even thinking, I'm sorry."

"It's not bad," Storm replied reassuringly, "I'll let you get dressed while I go to get someone to help with the bed."

"Okay."

"I'll be back in a minute." She said with a smile.

Storm slowly closed the door behind her. Gwen pulled out some clothes and quickly changed. She made sure that her sleeves covered the pink scars on her wrist. She ran her brush through her hair then threw everything back into her duffel. There was a knock at the door just as she finished zipping up her bag.

"Come on in."

The door opened as Storm and the woman from earlier that morning entered the room.

"Gwen, this is Jean Grey." Storm said introducing them.

"Yeah, I saw you this morning, with the Professor."

"That was me." Jean said with a smile, "It's nice to meet you Gwen."

"Likewise." Gwen replied. There was something about Jean that struck her, something she couldn't explain. _'Maybe time will be nice for once and tell me what it is.'_ She thought. Storm and Gwen folded up the blankets and sheets, grabbed the pillow and stepped back as the two women folded the bed in half and began to carry it out of the room.

Gwen hoisted the sheets over her shoulder as the three walked down the halls. Gwen felt a strange bond between herself and Jean, though she didn't know why. It was like they'd met before, a long time ago, but she couldn't remember when or the circumstances. Afterwards, Storm showed her to the room that she would be in; "I hope you don't mind sharing a room with a few other girls your age."

"I grew up in an orphanage, I think I can handle it."

"An orphanage?"

"Yeah, I was dumped there when I was a baby."

Storm paused for a moment, "I'm sure they had a good reason."

"A good reason for not wanting their own kid? Please, enlighten me."

"Maybe you were in danger," Storm suggested. Gwen rolled her eyes, "Right. In danger of what? I doubt they even wanted me."

"Gwen . . . "

"I'm sorry, I get a little testy about my parents, or lack there of."

"It's alright. Most of the children here know exactly how you feel."

Gwen turned her gaze to the ornate floor beneath her feet; she didn't look up much until she reached her room with Storm.

"Well, here you go. I hope you like it. You're in the last bed."

Gwen looked in the room, it was vacant save for one girl who looked to be about Gwen's age. She had long brown hair that fell over the game of solitaire she was playing on her comforter. The girl looked up and smiled, "Morning, Storm." Gwen noticed a slight Southern accent.

"Morning, Rogue." Storm replied, "Feeling alright?"

"A little tired." the girl named Rogue replied, "How's Logan?"

Gwen stood there, completely out of the loop. Was this Rogue person sick? Is that why she was tired? How long had she been at the school? It didn't seem like long, but she and Storm seemed to know each other. And, who the heck was this Logan character?

"I'm not sure." Storm answered, "I haven't seen him since last night. He's getting some medical attention right now, as I understand it."

The Rogue girl nodded. Gwen looked from her to Storm and back again. Was this Logan dude sick too?

Storm turned to me, a smile gracing her lips, "I have to go, Gwen. I'll let you settle in then we'll figure out your classes. If there is anything else you need, I'm sure the other students will be happy to help you out."

"Thanks a lot." Gwen replied, wondering about the whole class thing. The last thing she wanted was interaction with the other students. Her paranoia slowly began to set back in. She didn't even notice Storm walk off until the Rogue girl growled. Gwen walked over to the last bed and set her things down. The bed was definitely not her style, what with a white headboard decorated with gold flowers, if that was bad, the comforter was worse - bright buttercup yellow.

Gwen rolled her eyes and looked over to Rogue, who was becoming very frustrated with her game; "Need some help?" Gwen offered, having learned to play solitaire during many hours in sitting in detention for no reason.

"I think I'm stuck. Probably lost," Rogue said, an annoyed tone escaping from her lips, "again." She turned to her bedside table and grabbed a pad of paper. There were two columns: one was labeled WINS and the other LOSSES. There were considerably more losses than wins, probably close to triple the amount of wins.

Gwen looked over the game, then leaned over, "Uh, do you mind?" Rogue looked up at her, "Oh, no. Please."

After a few moves, Gwen had won the game and drew an imaginary check in the WINS column.

Rogue smiled, "Wow. Thanks!" she said, "You're good at this."

"Nah, I'm just observant." Gwen replied, "I'm Gwen, by the way."

Gwen reluctantly held out her hand, but Rogue didn't take it, she simply looked at it with a sort of longing. Gwen pulled her hand back, "Hey, it's okay. I don't have, you know, cooties or anything."

Rogue smiled, "I'm sorry. It's just when I touch people . . . I don't know. The Professor said something along the lines of 'being incapable of physical human contact'." Rogue turned and pulled some elbow length black gloves off her nightstand.

After putting them on, she stood and held out her hand, "Rogue. If you hadn't already heard, you know, from Storm." Gwen took it for a short handshake.

"So, when did you get in?"

"At about one this morning."

"I came in a couple hours before you."

"Oh good, another new person. Where from, if you don't mind my asking."

"Well, I came here from Lotham City, in Alberta."

"You're Canadian?"

"No, I sort-of ran away from home. I'm from Mississippi." She did not seem happy at the thought of her old home, so Gwen didn't ask.

"Oh, that makes more sense." Rogue looked at Gwen; "I noticed the slight accent."

Rogue nodded.

"So," Gwen began, "is Rogue your real name?" Rogue looked at Gwen again, a smile in her eyes. "I'm sorry, It's been a while since I've met anyone new. Besides, it seems like a lot of people around here seem to have some sort of nickname – well, at least one." Gwen sunk onto her bed, her head in her hands

"It's okay. And no, my name's really Marie."

"If it counts for anything, Gwen's not my real name either. It was changed when I was a baby."

"What's your real name?"

"Jade. My real name is Jade."

* * *

**ROGUEVAMPYR** - I'm glad you think so! Here's an update.

**DANI** - Thanks! You'll find out what her power is soon, there was a hint in one of the earlier chapters.

**REMUS IS MINE** - Sorry this took so long. I thought it would be something fun to add into the chap.

**FREELANCER88** - Thanks so much! Sorry this took forever.


	6. Chapter 5: The First Class

_Disclaimer: Guess what? I own everything! Ha ha, um, just kidding. I just own Gwen and her story._

_A/N: If you really want to find out what her power is, read (or reread) chapter 4, there are massive hints . . . The answer is coming soon . . ._

* * *

Storm had stopped by the room a little later with hand-written schedules for Gwen and Rogue both. They quickly compared agendas, finding that they had two classes together: History and Science. That left four classes where, so far, Gwen didn't know a soul. The thought haunted Gwen all morning. She was paranoid about the idea of the whole school ordeal, never wanting to return to the hell she'd experienced before.

They had spent the morning in their dorm, talking mostly. Both kept their secrets, neither giving away more information than was needed to be said. Gwen told Rogue about the orphanage, and how she came to be at the school, but didn't say anything about her old school or her so-called 'friends', never revealing the bruise that lay behind her curtain of hair. She didn't want to seem vulnerable to this new person, wouldn't drop her guard for anything, didn't want anyone to see how weak she really was.

Gwen and Rogue briefly met their dorm-mates before their secound period class: Jubilation Lee, preferably called Jubilee, an outgoing girl with dark hair; Kitty Pryde, who was a tall, shy girl with short brown hair; and Franka Clancy, a brunette with red streaks running the length of her hair and a think Austrian accent. All three were nice and open to the newcomers, but Gwen was still nervous in their presence. Rogue was more open to their friendly smiles, though she too seemed to be holding back. Gwen felt better, knowing that Rogue was just as uneasy with them as herself, though Gwen knew it was only because Rogue was scared of the fact that she could do more harm to them, not vice-versa, as Gwen feared. Though Jubilee, Kitty and Franka seemed nice, Gwen feared what they could be hiding, what their secrets were, what they could do to her.

"Oh, that's our bell," Jubilee's voice broke Gwen's train of thought, "We'll see you guys later."

Gwen looked up as the girls exited the room, smiling and laughing amongst themselves. She felt so insecure, and could do nothing to stop it.

She felt a hand on her shoulder all the sudden, and looked up into Rogue's brown eyes.

"Hey," Rogue started, "are you okay? You looked a little freaked out or something."

Gwen paused, looking at Rogue, "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. I'll be okay."

Gwen's first class that day was History, third period. The last place she wanted to be was in a classroom; it only brought back memories, bad memories. She walked into the classroom by herself and took a seat in the back of the room. She ignored the other students as they filed into the room and took their seats, staring at her the whole while. Gwen, who had never met another mutant before Xavier's school, was genuinely surprised at what she saw as she surveyed the room as it filled with students. Many of the students looked like "normal" people, they looked like those people that she went to school with. Just thinking about her old school brought back old memories, old fears. She glanced around the room, wandering which one of them would come for her first -

She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder, and a soft voice reached her ears, "Morning, Gwen, how are you doing so far?"

Gwen looked up, relieved to see Storm smiling at her, "Not bad. Just a little nervous, that's all." she lied.

"You ready for some history? Best subject in the _entire_ school, if I do say so myself."

"As long as it's not US History, I can't wait." Gwen replied, attempting a smile.

"No US history, not yet, we're in Ancient Rome, right now."

"Oh, very cool."

Storm smiled, "Good morning, Rogue."

"Hey," Gwen started as Rogue sat down next to her, "Welcome to Ancient Rome."

"Kitty! Look who I found!" Gwen turned slightly, to be faced with the smiling face of Jubilee, with Kitty right behind her. The pair took their seats on the opposite side of Gwen as the bell rang and Storm began her class.

"The roman empire," she started, "for centuries, they persecuted and ostracized the Christians, and then, almost over night, their religion rose to become the dominate faith of the empire. Does anyone know what suddenly caused the Christians to become accepted? Anyone?"

Gwen looked around, noticing that no one was raising their hand. She slowly raised her hand, a light coming instantly into Storm's eyes.

"Yes, Gwen."

"Didn't the emperor become a Christian?" she answered, feeling everyone's eyes upon her.

"Exactly right," Storm said, addressing the rest of the class, but she turned back to Gwen, distracted by something, "Gwen, do you mind taking your glasses off?"

"What?"

"Your glasses, would mind taking them off?"

"Uh, actually, I would," Some of the class snickered at her response, others seemed appalled that someone would talk back to a teacher. "I'm not trying to be a smart-ass or anything, but you probably don't want me to do that. It's just - it's just that, my eyes, you see - " Gwen stopped, Storm was looking straight at her, along with the rest of the class. Reluctantly, Gwen reached for her glasses, slowly taking them off; "They tend to creep people out."

There were a few gasps in response, while others leaned in for a better look. Gwen cowered in her seat, hating all of the attention. She looked up to Storm for comfort; she just smiled, and then continued with her class.

"Come on, now, everyone. We were discussing what?"

A few hands went up; "Yes, Jubilee."

"Constantine's conversion."

"Yes. Emperor Constantine and his ruling class all converted to Christianity,"

Gwen was suddenly distracted by Kitty, who poked her in the arm, nodding towards Rogue. Gwen nudged Rogue slightly, directing to attention to Kitty, who suddenly didn't seem so shy; "Hey, you know that guy you came in with?" Kitty began, making sure Storm didn't hear her, "Does he really have steel claws that come out of his hands?"

Jubilee look to Rogue, an expression of mixed emotions on her face, "What kind of a mutation is that?"

Rogue just turned away, disregarding their comments about Logan, whoever he was. This time there was another distraction. The boy sitting right front of Gwen and Rogue and had created a fireball, right in his hand. Gwen leaned forward, fascinated by the whole thing. She'd never seen anyone else, other than herself, use their powers before. She was impressed, though it was plainly obvious he was trying to show off, but in that moment, it didn't matter really. Gwen could hear Storm discussing Constantine and his army invading Italy and Constantine's vision of a glowing cross, but her words simply went in one ear and out the other.

Suddenly, from the other side of Rogue, a stream of what looked to be frozen air came shooting towards the boy's fireball, freezing it instantly. The ice fell from the boy's hand and shattered on the floor, making him jump in his seat.

"John." Storm said, turning from the chalkboard to face him, "What did I tell you?"

"Sorry." he replied, tucking his lighter into his pocket.

The rest of the class seemed to drone on, with information Gwen had learned at her old school and the Ice-boy (whose name turned out to be Bobby) flirting with Rogue, giving her an ice rose.

"Alright, tomorrow, be prepared for a quiz." Storm said, the students packing up their things and leaving.

"The lesson wasn't too painful for you two, I hope." Storm said, once everyone had left, leaving Gwen and Rogue behind.

"No." Rogue answered, Gwen just shook her head as she replaced her glasses.

"Good."

"Storm?"

"Yes, Gwen?"

"Why did you make me remove my glasses? You could tell it was uncomfortable, I know you could."

Storm put her hand on Gwen's shoulder, looking directly into her pale blue eyes, "Gwen, you're safe here. No one's going to hurt you," she said with the utmost sincerity. Gwen looked to her; a feeling of security overwhelmed her for the first time in a very, very long time. She felt safe around Storm, her words comforting Gwen's feeling of being lost and in constant danger.

"There's nothing here you have to hide."

* * *

_Oh, one more A/N: Thanks for all your reviews! Just as a side note, I want to try and get some random mutant teens at the school mentioned in this fic. If you want to send me a character by email or put the suggestion in a review (hint hint), I'll put them in. Mostly, it will be kind-of filler characters maybe reoccurring friends or something like that, but at least Gwen won't have every class with Rogue._

_**Weirdsista** - Thanks, I'm glad you like it! And, yes, I am a girl - no worries_

_**Adeline** - Sorry, but you'll have to wait to find out._

_**Liliput83** - Thank you! It's always nice to hear that! I had to make it sad for her so that things will come together better later . . ._

_**ME** - Sorry about that, I accidentally posted two of the same chapter, my computer is crap. It's fixed now! Was this update okay?_

_**StarfireFan101** - Uh, no, Gwen isn't me. And, I spelled Mississippi right., sorry I don't want to sound mean._


	7. Chapter 6: Fire and Ice

_Disclaimer: I own nichts. Don't sue me, please!_

_A/N: Sorry about any grammatical/spelling errors in that last chapter, I was really tired and my neck was killing me for whatever reason. I hope everyone liked the intro for Bobby and John, and no worries, they will get bigger roles in upcoming chapters, along with Jubilee and Kitty.

* * *

_

Gwen didn't see Rogue again until after classes were over. She didn't have to look far; Rogue was obviously avoiding the rest of the students, including Gwen as well. What Rogue and Storm had spoken about after history, Gwen had no idea. She'd left quickly, allowing Storm's words to sink in. It was hard for her to believe Storm, that there was nothing she had to hide, nothing she had to fear. Letting go of her past would be one of the hardest things she was going to have to do. She hadn't paid attention in any of her other classes, just stared at the blank notebook before her, Storm's words running through her mind over and over again.

When Gwen found her, Rogue was alone in their dorm, curled up on her bed. Gwen walked over and sat down on her own bed, looking Rogue in the face.

"It's my turn to ask the questions - are you okay? What's the matter?"

"Nothing. I'm fine."

"You're lying."

Rogue paused and looked up to Gwen; "You don't know that."

"Trust me, I know when people are lying, it's a gift - and a curse."

"How can I trust someone who doesn't know how to trust?"

Gwen stopped; anything she was going to say simply flew away, off into oblivion. Rogue knew, how, Gwen didn't know. She'd been caught off-guard, and silently reprimanded herself for letting her shield down. "Trust isn't something that comes easily for me, Rogue. I learned a lot of things the hard way by trusting people easily." Gwen explained, pulling her hair back, revealing the bruise to another student for the first time. Though its size had dwindled, Rogue still looked shocked and concerned as she propped herself up on her elbow; "Gwen, what - "

"This isn't about me." Gwen said before Rogue could continue, "Besides it's complicated. She got off the bed and knelt before Rogue, staring her in the eye; "Will you tell me? Please?"

Rogue sighed, but reluctantly spoke: "I thought that - that I could - could be," Tears began to well up in her brown eyes, but Gwen simply nodded for Rogue to continue. "I thought I was going to be - cured."

Rogue sank back into a fetal position, Gwen simply sat back on her feet, suddenly avoiding Rogue's look of despair; "Oh God - you did?"

Rogue nodded in response.

"Rogue," she started, but had trouble finding the right words. She looked up at Rogue, who appeared so weak and helpless, like a child on its own; "I'm so sorry," Rogue wiped a tear off her cheek with her gloved hand. Gwen placed a hand gently on Rogue's arm, "You know what?" she whispered, "Sometimes, I wish that too."

Gwen went to dinner alone, leaving Rogue time to be by herself. She walked through the halls, her head down, avoiding the wandering eyes of strangers as they passed her by. After following Storm's directions to the kitchen carefully, Gwen got food quickly and left the room as soon as was humanly possible. Everyone was staring at her and making 'secretive' comments that she heard loud and clear. Before her freedom could be reached, though, a stick-thin girl with a washable tan and her little entourage of only two other girls Gwen.

"Hey," the 'leader' girl said, standing in front of the door way, blocking Gwen's way, "You the new girl?"

Gwen looked at the girl through her dark hair; "Yeah, one of them, what of it?"

"There are two of you?" the girl asked, turning to her friends who shook their heads with confusion.

Gwen smirked, she couldn't help it, this girl was clearly not with it; "How did you hear about one new girl, but not the other?"

Clearly flustered, the girl ignored Gwen's comment, "Are you the one that back talked a teacher?"

"Does it matter?" Gwen shrugged. The girl glared at her, her annoyance noticeably growing. "You have got to be kidding me." Gwen started, standing at her full height, "I don't have time for some little brat and friends trying to get me into trouble for being a smart-ass, okay? So, if you really value your bones, I'd suggest you get out of the way."

The girl laughed, "What? Are you trying to scare me with your super strength or something?"

Gwen started getting really frustrated; "Do you have a problem with me or something? You don't even know my name and you already have a beef with me?" she asked, wanting desperately to end the scene.

The girl didn't answer. Her friends gave Gwen a look of shock – as if she had committed some cardinal sin and didn't even realize it. A crowd had gathered, watching with confrontation with great interest.

Gwen pushed the girl out of her way and continued on into the kitchen.

"Hey!" the girl called after her.

Gwen stopped; "Just leave me alone." Gwen looked at the crowd before her, only to be faced with the multiples stares of everyone in the room. Gwen turned her eyes towards the floor, desperately wanting to use her power to simply vanish from their view. Feeling their eyes drilling into her, Gwen quickly got her food and sat outside behind a significantly large tree, out of sight.

She was just beginning to bite into her apple when a voice disrupted her alone time; "Hey, you know Rogue, right?"

Gwen jumped at her place on the ground, her heart racing, the apple falling from her hand. "Shit!" _'How the hell did they know I was back here!' _Gwen thought to herself angrily as she seized her apple quickly from the ground and wiped it off, _'Can never leave anyone alone, typical, absolutely typical.'_

"Correct." Gwen replied annoyed, not looking up to the person standing before her. She was hardly in the mood to deal with anyone at the moment.

"Is she okay?" the voice asked, "I mean, is she sick or something?

"No," Gwen answered, biting into the piece of fruit in her hand, "Why do you ask?"

The person squatted next to Gwen, who looked to find that it was none other than Ice-boy Bobby; "She was going to meet me for lunch, she didn't show."

"Yeah, what of it, Ice-boy?" Gwen asked.

"What?"

"Never mind. What about it?"

"I thought she would. She _said_ she would."

"Maybe she didn't want to, huh?" Gwen offered, "Did you consider that, Ice-boy?"

"Well, no. But, she seemed to want to. At least, I thought she wanted to."

"Clearly, you thought wrong. Now, if you don't mind – "

"Are you always like this?" Bobby asked.

"Like _what_, exactly?"

"Stubborn."

"Oh, that," Gwen smirked, "Yeah, pretty much."

"Is she alright? Have you seen her?"

Gwen looked at Bobby, whose eyes noticed the bruise immediately; "She'll be alright. She just needed _to be alone_." she answered sincerely, enunciating the last few words to get her point across – praying that he would take the hint.

"Okay, I get it." Bobby said standing up, and preparing to walk away; "Hey, how did you get that - ?" he asked, pointing to his own eye.

Gwen ran her fingers over the bruise, "I was beaten - badly." she practically whispered.

"Ha ha, very funny." Bobby laughed, "You probably tripped and fell, right?"

"You calling me a liar?"

"Oh, shit . . . "

Suddenly another voice came from the other side of the tree; "Bobby, what the hell are you doing back here?" the voice said, drawing closer until its owner was finally in view, "With a girl!"

"Oh, God." Gwen said rolling her eyes.

"For Christ's sake, John, get out of the gutter."

The other boy looked to Gwen, who recognized him instantly - "Hey, you're the guy from history, with the fire."

"That's me." he said, "The name's John, but you can call me Pyro."

"How fitting." Gwen said, turning back to her food.

"And you are - ?" he asked.

Gwen rolled her eyes, just wanting to be alone, "Gwen, not that it really matters."

John's interest suddenly became very obvious, "Did you just have a fight with Kate?"

"Who? You mean the Blondie with the wannabe entourage?"

John nodded, eagerly awaiting Gwen's reply.

"It wasn't really a fight. She just got on my nerves. So, no, I did not just have a fight with Kate. If you would be so kind as to - "

"You don't understand." Bobby said.

"Does it look like I care?" Gwen retorted.

"She almost killed John a couple months ago."

Gwen looked up, her interest suddenly piqued; "What's her mutation?"

"Kate has the ability to manipulate air. In other words, she could basically suffocate you where you stand. She also suffers from an overactive temper. John insulted - "

"I did not." John added, "Oh by the way, are you going to let _me _tell_ my_ story?"

"Shut up." Bobby answered. John rolled his eyes and sat down. "Anyway, John _insulted_ Kate, or one of her minions or whoever and he pretty much was toast. I'm surprised she didn't get kicked out."

"Fucking bitch." John grumbled, rubbing his throat.

"You've just gotten yourself a new enemy."

"I'll make sure to add her to the list." Gwen said, standing up and grabbing her food, "Do you think she could really suffocate me, if she can't see me?"

* * *

_Another A/N: Anyone guessed what her mutation is yet! If you're still not sure, you'll find out in the next chapter, I promise. I still would like some random characters to fill in the chapters with, any ideas you can put in a review (wink wink, nudge nudge) or email to me._

_**Remus Is Mine **- Sorry I didn't do this last chapter, but I found out that you reviewed right after I posted. I hope you enjoyed the whole Bobby intro. He will eventually become a bigger character in this, along with John._

_**ME** - Thanks so much! If you didn't figure it out from chapter four, then you'll have to wait a little while longer. Not too long though, I promise._


	8. Chapter 7: An Early Morning

Disclaimer: X-Men belongs to Stan Lee, the genius. I just own Gwen and those people you may not recognize.

A/N: Is there no one who wants to add a character of their own making? NO ONE? Well, I guess I just have to be creative then . . . Poo . . . (that was a HINT, my friends :) )

* * *

Gwen woke early the next morning, before anyone else in her dorm. She had had trouble sleeping during the night, the ability to clear her mind had completely left her. As she sat up, she found that Rogue was curled up tightly on her bed, her blanket pulled up to just underneath her chin. Gwen dressed quickly and made her way through the silent halls. She hadn't checked to see what time it was, but guessed it was fairly early. The sun was just beginning to break through the windows, illuminating the halls.

"This place is huge . . . " Gwen mumbled to herself, her stomach growling, as she turned down yet another corridor that lead nowhere. The school was bigger than she'd realized, and Storm's directions to the kitchen, or at least one of them, were blurred in her mind. Her last conversation with Rogue ran over and over again in her mind. The thought of being cured had never even crossed her mind. Her mutation was something that Gwen had to live with, whether she wanted it or not. But, thinking about it, Gwen's mutation wasn't to awful and it hardly interfered with her life, especially now that she pretty much had control over her powers, but Rogue had said something about hers, something about when she touched people - "Oh dear god . . . "

"So, do you always talk to yourself?"

Gwen swung around, only to be confronted by John leaning against a wall, flicking his silver lighter open and shut. "What the hell are you doing out here this early in the morning!" Gwen asked, trying to recover from the surprise. She hadn't realized that she was spacing out, allowing her feet to lead her where ever.

John stood up straight, smirking, "I should ask you the same thing."

Gwen looked to at him, she had just noticed his accent for the first time. Quickly reverting her eyes to the floor, she replied, "I was hungry." She could feel his gaze burning into her skin.

"Look at that. So am I. Come on, it's this way." he answered, beckoning for her to follow.

For whatever reason, she didn't. John began to walk down the hall without her, not noticing the fact that she hadn't moved. Gwen was confused. Somehow, she wasn't scared to be around John, like she was with everyone else. She barely knew him, and yet, there was something about him that -

"Hey, what are you doing? Aren't you hungry?"

"Well, um, yeah, it's - it's just - "

"Nothing. It's nothing." John finished for her, "Come on, the sound of your stomach is driving me nuts."

After a moment, Gwen gave in, giving her stomach priority over her fears - is that what they really were, though? Honestly, she didn't know. Gwen walked down the halls in silence, pondering to herself, not wanting to wake anyone up. It took John a significantly shorter time to reach the kitchen than it ever would have taken Gwen.

"So," John started as he went straight for the fridge, "How did you end up here?"

"Long story."

"It's barely even 6:30. We have time." he said, placing a bowl and spoon in front of her, "What'll it be, Corn Flakes or Pops?"

"Doesn't matter."

"Okay." John said grabbing the Corn Pops and pouring some into his bowl, then passing the box to Gwen. He looked up, "Well, come on. Just one thing."

"Do you really want to know? I mean, do you really care _that_ much?"

John sat down next to her, cereal in hand. He looked to her, and nodded; "Yeah, actually I do."

Gwen sighed, running her spoon through the cereal as it floated around in the milk; "Are you from Australia?"

"Hey, don't try to change the subject."

"Why do you care so much?"

"I'm just curious, that's all. You can't get all mad at me just for being curious, can you?"

"Try me."

"Damn, Bobby was right. You are stubborn."

Gwen paused, bringing her spoon to her lips, "I've never met my parents."

Pyro looked at her, "Really." It was a statement, not a question.

"I grew up in an orphanage."

"With other kids?"

"No," Gwen replied sarcastically, "All by myself."

"Well, how did you hide your - " Pyro pointed at Gwen's eyes. She raised her fingers to her face, and realized that she'd forgotten to put her glasses on. Gwen turned her eyes back towards her breakfast and sighed, "I usually wear sunglasses."

"Yeah, I remember. From yesterday, that is."

Gwen looked at him through the corner of her eyes, then looked away again.

"Do you not like them? Is that why you hide them?"

"I hide them because I have to."

"Well, I think they're cool."

"How kind of you." Gwen replied, not impressed, "Are you serious or are you just trying to make me feel better?"

"Take a stab at it."

"It's not making me feel any better."

John smirked again and returned to his breakfast; "I'm proud of you."

"What? Why?"

"Well, I asked you one question and got more information than I expected - especially from you."

"You barely even know me and you already have expectations of me? Good God almighty."

John smiled; "In reply to your question, I am from Australia. I was born in Sydney."

Gwen nodded, "I knew it."

"What, are you psychic?"

"You mean like the professor? No, I'm not. Wouldn't that be cool though?"

"So, why did you leave? The orphanage, that is."

Gwen stopped. She had avoided thinking about that day since she'd left, and preferably did not want to think of it at the moment. She especially did not want to talk about it with a boy she didn't know.

"Do you not want to say why?"

Gwen nodded slowly.

"Okay."

"Wait, you're not going to pester me for an answer?"

"No."

Gwen stared at him, amazed. John turned back to his food. "Thank you." Gwen managed to say.

John opened his mouth to reply, but was abruptly cut off.

"Oh, excuse me, I didn't mean to interrupt." the girl standing in the doorway said, grinning like a maniac. It took Gwen a moment to recognize her, as there was no entourage this time, she remembered as the girl from the evening before, Kate.

"What are you doing up this early, Windy?" John asked coolly, "Don't you actually need beauty sleep?"

The girl glared at John, "Having a little party, I see."

"Are you upset that you weren't invited?"

"You think I would have come?"

"What do you want, Blondie?" Gwen inquired, desperately wanting to be rid of the other girl's presence.

Kate tilted her hips, her steely eyes tearing a hole straight through Gwen; "You're just going to make this really difficult, aren't you?"

"I'm certainly going to try." Gwen said, draining her bowl of milk, "Don't you have someone your own hair colour to annoy?"

Kate glared at Gwen, "You are really starting to piss me off."

"Oh yeah? What else is new?" Gwen said standing up to take her bowl to sink. She had barely taken two steps when she suddenly felt short of breath. It became harder for her to breathe. She tried to take in deep breaths, but felt as if the wind was getting sucked out of her. Gwen suddenly recalled her conversation with John and Bobby from the evening before: _"Kate has the ability to manipulate air. In other words, she could basically suffocate you where you stand."_

"Oh, fuck." Gwen thought to herself. She looked up to Kate, who stood by the door, smiling maliciously. Gwen fought to breathe, her lungs beginning to collapse inside of her.

"Kate! What the hell do you think you're doing!" John yelled, standing up. Kate ignored him.

The bowl dropped from Gwen's hand, smashing on the floor. Gasping for air, Gwen looked up and, concentrating, disappeared right before Kate's (and John's) eyes.

Kate looked around, worried, instantly breaking her mental connection with Gwen; "Where the hell did she go!" she cried, walking over to Pyro; "What's her mutation!"

"I have no idea."

After catching her breath, Gwen began to move slowly towards Kate. "Maybe you should use that one brain cell and figure it out for yourself." Gwen said, her voice ringing throughout the kitchen.

"Transporter?" Kate guessed.

"No" Gwen said, drawing in closer to Kate.

"Coward, just show yourself." Kate attempted.

"You're calling me a coward?" Gwen replied, making herself visible behind Kate.

Kate swung around, only to be met with Gwen's suddenly visible fist.

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Another A/N: I can't believe I forgot it for the last chapter! I meant to have Pyro have an Australian accent, like from the comics. I totally spaced out, hopefully I redeemed myself this chapter.

Remus Is Mine - No! Don't cry! I LOVE YOU! (platonically, of course) I'm glad you liked the Bobby stuff, I was thinking about your review as I was writing that chapter and thought, 'Hey! I'll put Bobby in here!' There, just for you! Happy Birthday, Happy Christmas, and everything else . . .

A Lost Soul - YAY! Cookies to the first guesser! And you guessed correctly too! No, Gwen is not telepathic as well, she only has the one power. Just curious, what made you think that she was telepathic as well?

ME - Thanks so much! I hope you liked this chapter!


	9. Chapter 8: Consequences

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Disclaimer: Yeah, I own Gwen and her story, no suing please!!!

A/N: SORRY THIS TOOK FOREVER!!! Junior year in high school sucks, and anyone who tells you otherwise is lying through their teeth. Midterms do as well. I'll have the next one posted a lot faster.

Please do not get too excited. This is only a 'filler chapter'. This needed to happen, sorry.

Professor Xavier's office was a lot bigger than Gwen had remembered it being. She looked around the room, glancing at paintings on the wall, most of them landscapes from distant places, homey places Gwen had hardly ever known. Gazing out the window, Gwen watched as a few of the students began to make their way across the grass to the kitchens. Gwen shifted in her seat. She was scared of what the Professor would do with her. She tried to avoid the worst case scenario: getting kicked out, sent back to the orphanage, to her old school. Gwen didn't have the strength mentally to face them again, nor did she have the desire. She knew that at this very moment, they were probably laughing in victory.

A very ornate, old-looking clock on the wall ticked at every secound, the sound ringing in her ears as she tapped her fingers on the chair. Gwen sighed, it was only the beginning of her secound day and she was already in trouble, she did sort of bring it upon herself though.

Gwen jumped as the door suddenly opened and the sound of a mechanical wheel chair approached her from behind. Gwen sank into her seat, expecting the worst.

"It would be most appropriate if you sat up when meeting with someone, you never want them to think that you are scared." the professor stated as he positioned himself behind his desk, "Are you scared, Gwen?"

"Yes." Gwen mumbled in response.

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to go back, I don't want to - I don't want to go back, to before."

Xavier smiled, he had already known the answer, but humoured her. "Why do you think you're going back?"

"Oh, I don't know, probably because I _punched _someone!" Gwen exclaimed, then mumbled to herself: "Besides, she had it coming."

"What was she doing to deserve this?"

"She was doing some crazy-ass-air-removal-thing on me." Gwen said to her knees. She had not looked at the professor at all since he'd come into the room. She obviously wanted to avoid the situation as much as was physically possible for her in her present predicament.

"Sorry?"

"You know, with her powers."

Though amused by her description of Kate's power, Xavier kept it too himself. Gwen was upset, it was as obvious as the bruise on her cheek, when it wasn't hidden behind her hair. Xavier brought his wheelchair around his desk so that he was next to Gwen, "Why did you hit her?"

"She was trying to kill me."

"Oh?"

"Listen, Professor, I'm really not trying to make enemies here." Gwen stood, walking over to the window, the same window she's looked out from when she'd been at her lowest; "The last thing I need right know are more enemies, more people to steer clear of."

"Why do you think that you will make enemies here?"

"Because, they're everywhere."

Xavier paused, taken aback by her comment. He had heard similar words come from many of the students, teens from all over who had shared familiar experiences of distrust and fear brought on by their peers. Her story was not different, and yet, it seemed so. While many of the students came ready to pick a fight with someone, Gwen came alone and scared. She feared the road ahead, what this place and the people here would do for, or _to_, her. She had never approached the school with optimism, only fear of what was looming ahead. Xavier had been hopeful when Gwen had opened up to Rogue, only to soon find out that there were many things Gwen was still hiding from her. She only wanted to be safe, to be rid of the demons that haunted her past, and the ones that would follow her forever.

"I don't trust anyone anymore because the people that I thought I could trust, turned on me in an instant, just because of who, of what I am."

"Does that fear relate to that mark on your face?"

"I don't really want to want to talk about it." she replied, still looking out the window, "Do you even understand?"

"I know this may come as a shock, but yes, I do."

Gwen looked over to the professor nervously; she opened her mouth as if to say something, but decided otherwise. In that moment, Gwen knew that, finally, she had found someone she could go to, someone to trust. They sat there, the two of them, in silence, understanding one another, knowing where the other came from, what they had experienced. Returning to lost gaze to the world outside, still somewhat uncertain of her fate at the school, she found some words to break the silence between them, "Are you, are you going to kick me out?"

Xavier smiled, "While I do not approve of such behavior between my students, Gwen, I assure you, you will not be packing your bags anytime soon."

Gwen turned to Xavier, "Are you serious?"

"You will have to apologize to Kate."

"What?! She doesn't deserve an apology! No way!" Gwen cried, "And what about me? I'm the one that could have died, you know."

"You appear to be in perfect health, Gwen, besides, you are not the one who will have to walk around with a black eye and sore nose."

"As long as I don't have to pay for her nose to be replaced . . . "

"Her nose will survive."

Gwen paused. Smirking, she turned to glance towards Xavier, "I left a mark?"

"One that I fear Dr. Grey will not be able to cover up at all." the professor said, "You are now excused."

As Gwen walked out of his office that morning, she could have sworn she saw a tiny smile creep across Professor Xavier's aged face.

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Another A/N: Okay, so I went to see The Incredibles (great movie, btw) and I had an observation - the daughter, Violet, is practically the same character as Gwen! It was crazy, I was sitting there, watching the movie, and suddenly out pops Gwen! I practically shouted in the middle of the movie: "Damn you, Pixar! You stole my character! I'm suing your asses!" It's probably a good thing I did not, my companion would have shot me and then died of guilt. Do any of you readers, who have seen The Incredibles, notice this?

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Remus Is Mine - See? She got into trouble, sort of. The next chapter will be a little more exciting than this one, I promise . . . Okay, I just was bored and read your profile and, DUDE! We have a lot in common! Bizarro!

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ME - Thank you! Hope you liked this chapter!

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Vanima Bliss - Thank you! How very kind! I try, I really do. Sorry this took forever and a half. Hope you liked!

A Lost Soul - _Oh, you're very observant. I didn't even think about it that way. But that guess comes very close to future chapters . . . but the details are for me to know, and you to find out (cliché #5) . . . Anyhoo, a character would be great! I'll give you special recognition for it too! And more cookies! You like chocolate chip? I make really good ones . . . I'll send them to you . . . virtually . . . Um, (scratches head) how will that work out?_

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Diaz F - Pullyourself together woman! (or man, just to be safe) You'll find out the truth - eventually. Wow! Thanks a lot! I'm sorry for the late update, but I do, surprisingly, have something that slightly resembles a life and just couldn't get to writing it. Forgive me, please! (P.S. Bits and pieces will come together gradually as the story goes along, so, as my motto goes, Patience is a Virtue!)


	10. Chapter 9: The Personal Aftermath

Disclaimer: Yeah, I own Gwen and her story, no suing please!!!

A/N: Wow, I just want to say thank you to all of my wonderful reviewers! It might seem pathetic compared to other stories on , but 53 reviews is a big deal for me! Again thank you all for reviewing! I love you guys! About the story, this chapter should start to clear up any questions you guys may have about how Gwen ties in with the X-Men (ME, this is for you!). Enjoy!

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Time seemed to pass slowly from the time Gwen left Xavier's office to the time of her first class. She simply wandered through the halls, ignoring the stares of other students as they passed her in the halls. Her mind was lost, searching for a way out of the world it was in. Xavier's words stung her: _'Do you even understand?'_ Gwen had asked, never expecting his answer of _'I know this may come as a shock, but yes, I do.'_ She'd been surprised by his answer, but, then again, he had been her age at one point. She wondered if he'd ever dealt with the same treatment, the same _abuse_, you could say, as she had.

"I wonder if anyone else here has dealt with this . . . " she wondered aloud.

Allowing her feet to simply lead her wherever they pleased, Gwen absentmindedly rolled up one of her sleeves, her fingers running over the pink scars that ran down the length of her forearm. This would normally be one of the moments, at the orphanage, when she would find relief in a blade slicing her pale skin.

Gwen stopped in mid step; "Why not?" she asked herself quietly, "No one will ever find out."

With that conclusion she began to wind her way through the immense labyrinth of halls back to her room. She got lost just once, opening the door of one of the boys' dorms, thanking God that no one had been inside. It took her about ten more minutes before she got to her own dorm. Finding it empty, she quickly shuffled over to her bed. Reaching into her pillowcase, she unearthed her knife. After double-checking to make sure the room was otherwise unoccupied, Gwen flicked it open, the blade catching the sunlight. She wiped the dried blood off its edge and rolled up her sleeve.

The feeling of cold steel was a welcome sensation against the white of her skin. She knew what she was doing was wrong, that it was a 'destructive' habit, and she'd tried to stop, but sometimes the pain just needed to go away. It had been the only refuge she'd had ever. There was never anyone to go to, to pour to heart and soul to. She had lost the ability to trust when she was fourteen, right after people at school found out that she was a mutant. Without trusting anyone, there was no one confide in, so one day she found relief in a Swiss Army knife she'd taken from one of the younger kids at the orphanage. After that was reported missing, Gwen joined in the search, 'finding' it under the sofa. She knew it was too suspicious to take knives from the kitchen, so, after ignoring the powerful urge to cut again, she went out and purchased a knife from some old pawn shop. She had to soak it in alcohol and sharpen it after getting it home, and then it was her own little secret. No one saw the knife, or the slashes it made on her arms. She felt alone because of what she did to herself, even though she knew perfectly well that lots of people did it.

A small, slow streak of blood ran down the side of her arm, its few drops falling onto the yellow sheets of Gwen's bed. She didn't think about the fact that it would stain, or the possibility of someone noticing it. The idea of someone walking in on her didn't even cross her mind. She had just barely escaped being sent back to her own personal hell, which would normally have been a reason to be rejoicing, but for Gwen, it was just the opposite. The idea of being safe and having friends to trust was one she couldn't grasp. Everyone had betrayed her when she was at her weakest, and with that kind of record, what else was she to expect?

Gwen made one last cut, a feeling of guilt running through her. She thought back to the night she arrived, what she had told herself: _'You will never feel safe again. These people will only add to your pain.' _She remembered that night clearly, how she wanted to turn back in fear, even though that was part of her motivation to go the Xavier's in the first place.

Gwen looked to the clock, it was 8:10, she had ten minutes before her first class. Putting the knife on her bed, she quickly turned to the secound drawer of her night-stand, pulling out a roll of gauze. Gwen carefully began to wrap up her arm, but to her horror, the roll ran out. Gwen sat on her bed, her eyes fixed on the cuts she had made. Hastily, she covered as much of the slashes as possible and then ran for the door.

Wrapping one arm tightly with the other, Gwen made her way to a bathroom in hopes of finding some spare gauze. Finding one of restrooms, Gwen began to rummage through the cabinets, only to find toilet paper, spare toothbrushes and toothpaste.

"Need something?"

Fear ran through Gwen, straightening her spine. She slowly turned to see who had spoken to her, only to be met with the warm, welcoming face of Dr. Jean Grey. Gwen instantly stood, staring at the gentle smile on the doctor's face. There was something about this woman that Gwen felt like she knew, or had known. Gwen quickly ran through her memories, trying to place her, but the only thing that she could think of was their first meeting, two days ago; "Dr. Grey, uh . . . Hi." Gwen said, breaking her silence. There was a hint of disappointment in her voice. She wanted to know what the connection was between them, if there even was one that she wasn't imagining.

"Good morning. What are you looking for?"

"Well, you know, it's _that_ time of month."

Jean Grey nodded in understanding; "Follow me." Gwen followed her to a very small, cramped supply closet down the hall that any claustrophobic would die in. The room was full of medicine like pain killers and fever reducers, feminine supplies and, much to Gwen's pleasure, bandages. "I'm not supposed to show students where this is," Dr. Grey explained, "considering that some of the students come in with addictions to pain killers and what not. But I let most of the girls know where it is, just in case." She grabbed what Gwen required and handed it to her.

"Here you go."

"Thanks."

"Is your arm alright?"

"Huh?" Gwen asked, realizing that Dr. Grey must have noticed her clutching her arm, "Oh, yeah, I just, you know, slept on it funny."

"Okay."

"Thanks again."

"Sure, no problem." Dr. Grey replied, walking off.

Gwen went the other way, back towards the bathroom. Closing the door behind her, Gwen used her mutation to go invisible and walked back towards the closet. One plus to Gwen's mutation was that not only could she go unseen, but also unheard. She could have literally stomped her way down the hall and no one would be able to hear her. It took her awhile to be able to figure out how to speak while invisible, though she still experienced some problems.

Finding the door, Gwen looked around to make sure no one was there to see the door magically open by itself. Gwen stepped in, quickly grabbed a fresh roll of gauze and then sprinted back to her dorm. Gwen quickly covered the wounds, which were still bleeding, and then hid the roll.

Jean Grey calmly walked into the office of Professor Xavier. There was something about Gwen that was confusing her, something that was haunting her thoughts, memories of long ago . . .

"Good morning, Jean. How are you?"

"Fine, professor."

"What's the matter?"

"The new student, Gwen. What do you know about her?"

"She grew up in an orphanage, like some of the other students. Went to a public high school, fairly simple knowledge."

"What is her last name?"

"She said it was Simon, though I don't believe that is her real surname."

Why is that?"

"Beatrice Simon runs the orphanage where Gwen grew up. Why are you so interested in this student?"

"There's something about her, something that makes me feel like I know her, like we've met before."

"Well? Have you?"

"You already know the answer to that, Professor."

Xavier leaned forward in his chair, his face suddenly very stern, "Jean, you don't think that Gwen is - "

"No." Jean interrupted, "Please, I don't want to think about that, I don't want to remember."

"Have you spoken to Scott about it?"

Jean paused, she hadn't brought it up with Scott, nor did she have any desire to do so; "No."

"I think it would be a wise choice."

"I'm not so sure of that."

"Jean, you cannot run from it forever. I understand that it was painful for both of you, and that neither of you want to relive the past, but the best thing for the both of you to do would be to think it over."

"Okay," Jean agreed reluctantly, "I will."

"It will be good you both."

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_Another A/N: I hope this sort of ties some things together! Now, on to thank yous!_

_**EbonyFirePhoenix -** (freezes in place) Please! Don't shoot! Sorry, the speediness has failed, please don't kill me!_

_**Remus Is Mine - **I agree immensely, The Incredibles is a fantastic movie! (even if those bloody wankers at Pixar stole my character . . . ) Anyway, thanks! I'm sorry about that last update, school is hell. You haven't read my profile? TEAR! I'm so insulted! Ha, I'm only bluffing, I mean, seriously, do the profiles really matter? I just get bored and skim over them sometimes. Hope you liked this chapter!_

_**ME -** Thank you! I hope this chapter answered your question about Scott and Jean a little, there will be more of that soon, I promise._

_**General Mac -** Here you go! I hope you liked!_

_**A Lost Soul - **Dude, your review made me smile so much! Yay! I'm glad you like! BTW, here are your cookies (hands Tupperware full of chocolate chip cookies through computer), they're fresh! J Hope you enjoyed this chapter!_

_**Neko the Ninja -** Duh! How could I have forgotten! Dear lord, what's wrong with me?Diaz F - Mein Gott! I'm so sorry! (smacks forehead) Wow, I guess it was a good thing that I added the male part! I feel so terrible now! (bangs head against a wall) Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter._

_**Chiko -** oh my goodness, thank you kindly! Wow, that so nice of you, I'm glad you're enjoying the fic!_

_**Diaz F - **Duh! How could I have forgotten! Dear lord, what's wrong with me? Mein Gott! I'm so sorry! (smacks forehead) Wow, I guess it was a good thing that I added the male part! I feel so terrible now! (bangs head against a wall) Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter.oh my goodness, thank you kindly! Wow, that so nice of you, I'm glad you're enjoying the fic!_


	11. Chapter 10: A Heavy Mind

Disclaimer: You get the picture . . . If you don't, well, I'm not getting into it.

A/N: Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I'm back. Sorry I've been gone for so long, but a bizillion things were piled on me at once (the One Acts, finals, a new semester, you know, life) and just found the time now to start writing. BTW, wow, you guys! Thank you so much for all of your reviews! I love you guys so much!

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There was a ringing in Gwen's ears. She had miraculously found her way to her first class with the directions from Rogue she had barely listened to. Her arm was throbbing as the blood began its process of clotting. Her meeting with the good Dr. Grey had left her dazed and befuddled. She was so lost, something felt completely out of place about that woman, and yet Gwen just couldn't figure it out. Gwen wanted to reach out to this stranger, to speak to her, to cry to her, to embrace her, and yet those were the exact things that made her want to keep as much distance between them as much as humanly possible.

Suddenly the ringing stopped. Gwen's mind was ripped from her thoughts and brought abruptly back to the world that surrounded her: the world of reality. She focused her gaze at the students rushing passed her to their seats. Their happy voices stung her ears. She fought off the strong urge to simply let all of her troubles flow from her pale eyes and slide down her ashen cheeks. Her breathing began to hasten, causing her arm to pulsate even more, spreading the pain like an unrestrained wild fire running rampant through a grassy meadow. She hated them, every last one of them. And yet, she wanted to be one of them. She wanted to have her own niche, her own friends, her own happy life with the feeling of security that she'd always longed for. If only she knew that much of the students at Xavier's school had been rejected by or ran away from their so-called 'loving families' and that many of them shared her feelings of loneliness.

"Gwen?"

Swinging around, Gwen looked into the deep brown eyes of Rogue, who looked worried.

"So?" Rogue asked, "How did it go? With the professor?"

"Uh, oh that, yeah, it went okay."

"You sure? You seem a little - "

"Okay everyone, in your seats." A voice said from the door, a voice that made Gwen want to sink into the floor, "C'mon you guys, you all heard the bell ring."

Jean Grey strolled into the classroom, passing Gwen without a glance, and headed for the front of the room. Rogue walked Gwen to her seat. Dr. Grey began her lecture that had something to deal with the lining of the stomach, but that was as far as Gwen's attention span got. She was fighting the inner battle of whether or not to look up at the teacher as she paced at the head of the room or to keep her eyes glued to the grey-ish colour of her desk.

"Hey," Gwen suddenly heard Rogue's whispering voice from her left.

"What?" Gwen whispered back through the side of her mouth.

"What happened? With the professor?"

Gwen was silent. She wasn't sure how to respond. While Professor Xavier's repercussions (or lack there of) had been mild, she was sure that Rogue expected something truly heinous as a punishment.

"If you don't want to say, I understand."

Gwen turned her shaded eyes towards Rogue; "Nothing happened."

"What?"

"Nothing happened." Gwen explained truthfully.

"Nothing?"

"He just talked to me. That's it."

Rogue nodded and turned back to her notes. Gwen glanced over her shades in Jean's direction. She was in the process of writing some notes about tapeworms and what they do. The chalk banging against the board echoed in Gwen's head, making it hard to focus. Gwen tried to pick up her pen, in hopes of getting as many notes down as possible, but found that she could not grip the thin rod. Her fingers were shaking, and her arm was throbbing at an extreme.

She pulled her hand against her torso, in hopes of calming the blood flow. She closed her eyes, wishing that there was some way she could just right then and there. Jean's voice became softer and softer as continued to lecture about the stomach - or was it the stomach? Suddenly, Gwen couldn't remember. She looked up towards the board, but couldn't see anything. There was a sudden rush of blood leaving her head. The ringing came back again, much louder this time. Sliding her chair back, Gwen threw her head between her knees.

She didn't ever hear the worried words coming Rogue as Gwen distractedly became invisible and, without anyone seeing, toppled off her chair and onto the floor.

"Oh my God!" Rogue screamed, "Gwen!"

Jean hastily turned around at the sound of Rogue's panicked voice. Dropping her chalk, Jean ran to the back of the room, "What happened?"

"I don't know!" Rogue cried, "she just - disappeared!"

"What's her mutation?"

"She was right there!" Rogue exclaimed, her breathing hastening, "She just, she just . . . "

"Someone get her out of here!" Dr. Grey ordered as she fell to her knees and began to feel around the floor, hoping that her idea of what Gwen's mutation was would be right.

-

Gwen sighed. The world around her was quiet. Everything seemed to stop. She was surrounded by a brilliant white light. She felt weightless, almost as if she were being raised from the ground into the sky by some unknown, heavenly force. In this moment, life and all existence was perfect. She wished that she could stay like this forever. This paradise where everything was silent and pain-free.

-

Jean hit something on the floor, something that couldn't be seen. She had been right. She leaned down in hopes of listening for any signs of breathing. There was nothing. Suddenly terrified, Jean felt for Gwen's shoulder and roller her onto her back very gently. She leaned down and strained to listen for a heartbeat. Again, there was nothing. Fearing the worst, she ran her hand softly down Gwen's arm. Jean found the hand, which was freezing cold, and checked the pulse. Thanking God, Jean found one. It was slow, too slow to be normal.

"Kailey, get a blanket! I don't care where from, just go!" Jean cried, "**Hurry**! Joe, go get some help! Everyone else, back up!" she yelled to the crowd that had gathered.

Jean found Gwen's shoulder and gently rolled her onto her back. Taking her other shoulder, Jean began to lightly shake Gwen, in hopes of making her visible. It didn't work. Jean had never worked with a mutant who had the ability to become invisible before and, therefore, had no idea on how to deal with Gwen in her fragile state. There was a sudden rush of running sneakers and Kailey returned with a heavy brown blanket. Jean took it and wrapped Gwen tightly.

-

There was a sudden rush of warmth that crept through Gwen's icy body. It was a welcome sensation that made her feel all the better. She was content as she hovered within the light that surrounded her. The cold had been the one thing that stung her in this place of joy. She prayed that she would never have to leave. She closed her eyes, and went to sleep

-

Suddenly, Gwen's pulse dropped to a dangerously low speed. Jean began to panic, not fully understanding the situation or know how to help.

"Jean?"

Suddenly, everything that was happening seemed to stop all at once. Looking up, Jean was staring at Scott Summers and Professor Xavier, who slowly rolled over to Jean, his face completely void of any emotions. Of anyone, he would know how to help her.

Scott knelt beside Jean, taking her hand away from Gwen's, "It's okay, let her go. Just let her go."

"I - I can't."

"Jean," Scott said, wrapping his arm around her shoulder in comfort.

She looked over to the professor as he closed his eyes and began to creep slowly into Gwen's mind. Scott motioned for the students to leave. One by one, they grabbed their books and got up from their seats in silence and went to the door. As the last one left, Jean looked to Xavier, "Is she - dying?"

"No, she is still alive and - " the professor opened his eyes, looking down to Gwen, then over to Jean and Scott, "she's happy."

The professor closed his eyes again. Jean looked to where a brown blanket was seemingly floating in mid-air before her, confused.

-

Gwen's breathing was slowing, but she didn't notice. She was happy, for the first time in ages. Suddenly, something jolted through her. She tried to ignore it, but it wouldn't go away. Whatever it was, it was tearing away all of her new-found happiness. She didn't want it to. Pain began to erupt throughout her body. She opened her eyes and in one moment, everything went black

-

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Another A/N: Hey my ever faithful reviewers ( I love you guys so much!), I am so very sorry about the lateness of this chapter. I started a new semester at school, so things should be going rather slow for a while, hopefully. I will try to update as fast as I can. FYI, I'm making no promises.

**Remus Is Mine -** I told you so! Those assholes . . . Anyhoo, thank you! One of my best chapters? Well! Shucks! You are too kind, no really, you are! I totally understand about school. I don't know how old you are or what grade you're in, but I can tell you that Junior year (in high school) sucks. That's why it takes me forever and a half to update!

**ME -** Oh good, I'm glad. Thank you for such compliments! I hope you liked this chapter!

**A Lost Soul -** WHAT? pulls out a wand Avada . . . Whoa, wait, wrong movie! And, NO, I don't like the idea of extortion! And now for something completely different. Thank you! You had a hunch? Did I give you permission to have a hunch? Hmm? I think not! My heart wasn't stricken with fear_, per say, but rather with a sort of happiness (with the fact that you've been paying attention to the fic) I hope you liked the chapter!_

**Neko the Ninja - **Look at Insanity and her mad skills! You can rhyme! A-Mazing! Uh, depressing? I wonder why? Hmm, let me ponder that, I'll come back to you.

**Diaz F -** You mean the whole thing hasn't been good? Well! Ha, I'm only bluffing. goes into a fake whisper Shhh! Don't give any hints to A Lost Soul! Did she hear that? Oh, crap, I hope not . . . I'm glad you like the story! That makes me smile.

**Dory Shotgun** - Thank you! I'm glad that you're enjoying the fic! And, in about your question, the title of chapter two will give you your answer.

**Rogue200315** - Thanks so much! I'm pleased that you're enjoying the fic!

**Goldenkeys **- Wow! Thank you! Sorry about the tardiness of this update, school is no fun.


	12. Chapter 11: Sleepless Nights

Disclaimer: Yeah, definitely only own Gwen and her story.

A/N: OMG! I am so sorry. Time is in no way a friend of mine. I am really sorry for the wait! Woot, that was a weird chapter. Sorry about the cliffhanger, really, I am. That ending just worked out the way it did. Please don't hate me! Please? Oh also, I revised quite a few earlier chapters to make the storyline flow a bit better and not make it seem so jumpy.

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Gwen's world had been shattered in an instant. The feeling of euphoria had run off as if it had been frightened by something. Her hip, arm and head were aching like mad. Her 'new life', as Bea had called it, was not going as well as she had hoped, or planned. Nothing was going the way she had in mind, not that she really had expected it to get any better. Staring at the ceiling, Gwen recalled how happy she had felt. She sighed, "It was all a lie. I could never be that happy. Ever."

Physically, she was fine, aside from the aches and pains. Dr. Grey said that she most likely fainted due to stress and a (_very_) heavy mind. The only thing she could remember was the feeling that she had finally found her salvation, but now it was gone, only to be a memory that would never leave her as long as she was living. It pained her to remember how good she had felt, the bliss she had finally found, only to be swept away. She had strained several times during the day to forcibly bring back that feeling, but it was hard, and made her head hurt even more. She had felt a little better when a rather shaky Rogue had been in to see her. Gwen apologized for scaring Rogue, who said that it had been nothing, though she knew better.

The day had been a long one, filled with much physical pain and mental frustrations. She was lying on her bed, staring at the paneled ceiling, as darkness engulfed the school and the world surrounding it. A dim light from one of the girls' lamps cast shadows across the room. She'd had little sleep and was having trouble finding more, though it didn't help that there were some strange noises, copious in number, coming from another room. She was not the only one in the room wide awake. Rogue was on her side, clearly awake. Gwen only assumed that it was for the same reason - those blasted noises. They were getting louder, and more annoying, by the minute. Gwen rolled over to her good side and closed her eyes, silently wanting to chop off the head of the supplier of the infernal racket.

Rogue suddenly sat up in bed, a worried look on her face. She did not notice that Gwen was still awake. Rogue looked at the wall behind her, the wall from which the sounds were emanating. She stood and shuffled out of the room, heading in the direction of the noise. Gwen propped herself up on her elbow, wondering what the hell Rogue was doing. She hoped Rogue was not beating her to a beheading. Gwen debated whether or not to follow Gwen, though she did not have enough will to get out of bed. She plopped down on her pillow, closing her eyes.

A pair of screams pierced the night. Gwen shot up, switching her lamp on. The cries had come from the next room, the room she assumed Rogue was in. Gwen moved her ear to the wall, listening for anything else. She figured that whoever was in the other room was suffering from some sort of nightmare, and startled Rogue enough to scream.

"SOMEBODY HELP!"

Gwen darted out of bed and ran out of the room as her dorm-mates were roused from their deep sleep. Gwen didn't make it through the doorway of the other room. The sight before her was not one that she had been expecting - Rogue was standing before a man Gwen had not seen before. There were three huge gashes in her back.

Gwen watched as Rogue raised her hand to the man's face and gently touched it. Instantly, age lines appeared on his face as he gasped in pain. As she touched him, Rogue's open wounds began to slowly heal. Some more students began to gather around the door watching in both fear and amazement, unable to move.

"What happened?" someone asked.

"Did anyone see?"

No one answered. No one said anything. Jubilee and Franka were standing behind Gwen, their jaws dropped. Rogue's wounds were growing smaller by the secound, and no one understood how. Scott Summers and Jean Grey burst through the crowd and entered the room, closely followed by Storm.

Rogue broke her connection with the man, who fell to the floor.

Dr. Grey ran towards the man; "Scott, grab a pillow."

Rogue turned to Storm, tears beginning to come to her eyes, "It was an accident." Storm clearly had no idea of how to respond. Rogue left the room, everyone jumping back as if she was a carrier of the bubonic plague. "Ice-boy" Bobby watched Rogue go through the darkened hallways with a sort of longing look in his eyes, like he wanted to console her but was too chicken to do so. Gwen was the first to break from the crowd. She ran into her dorm, grabbed something hastily and then sprinted down the hall after Rogue.

"Rogue!" Gwen called after her.

"Leave me alone."

"Hey, hold up."

"I'm not in the mood to talk right now." Rogue replied coolly, turning to face Gwen.

"Who ever said I was here to talk?" Gwen replied. Rogue looked at her, confused. Gwen held out her hand. Rogue looked down and found her long, brown gloves laying on Gwen's outstretched palm; "I thought you might want these."

"Thank you." Rogue took the gloves, making sure to avoid skin contact. She seemed to be sincerely touched by Gwen's consideration.

Gwen did not respond. She started to back away, but stopped. She looked to Rogue, who was running her gloves between her fingers; "If you want to talk to someone, I'm here. I'll listen."

Rogue didn't say anything. She just looked at Gwen as a tear slid down her cheek.

"Hey, if you want to be alone just say so. I understand." Gwen said. She waited for a moment, and then backed away. She walked down the hall, leaving Rogue behind in the dark.

"Wait." Rogue said. Gwen stopped mid-step and turned around; "Stay. Please."

Gwen walked over to her, and nodded. Rogue's tears began to flow down her cheeks. Gwen put her arms around Rogue in comfort, careful to avoid any skin contact. It didn't matter how long it took, Gwen would listen to everything Rogue had to say, and even some things she didn't.

Scott Summers watched Gwen from the doorway to the bedroom. The students had been sent to their rooms, much to their annoyance. Storm had returned to her room, as well. Jean was inside tending to the rather weak and dazed Logan. Jean had been right - there was something that was so familiar about Gwen, though he couldn't tell what it was. He had her in one of his classes, but had not spoken to her for an extended period of time. He too, felt as if he had met her before, even though he had not.

"Scott?" The professor rolled up next to him. He followed Scott's eyes down the hall, where they fell on Gwen who was sitting against the wall, just listening to Rogue. Scott looked down to the professor, "Who is she?"

The professor did not meet Scott's gaze, he just simply looked at Gwen; "She is a girl who needs to be found."

"Do you think that she could be . . . ?"

"I don't know."

"Are you telling me to figure it out for myself?"

"Certainly seems like a logical course of action, doesn't it?"

Just then the door opened and Jean walked out; "He's stable. He'll be fine."

Xavier went into the room, and Jean closed the door after him. She, too, followed Scott's look down the hall.

"Do you understand what I meant now?" she asked.

Scott nodded.

"She kind of resembles - "

"Jean. Don't."

"Scott, we are going to have to confront this sometime."

"It's been so long. What if it isn't her?"

"How couldn't it be? We both feel like we know her, and don't know how or why. What other explanation is there, Scott?"

Scott sighed, Jean was right; "Give it some time, Jean."

"I have, Scott. I've given it sixteen years of my life!"

Scott put his arm around Jean's shoulders, "Shh. Now is not the time to do anything about it. Let's get some sleep."

"Shouldn't we - "

"Just leave it. We'll talk in the morning."

Jean walked down the hall, knowing somehow that they would never get the chance to talk - something very bad was about to happen, she could feel it.

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Another A/N: Thanks to all my lovely reviewers! You guys rock immensely.

**ME - **Oh yay! That makes me so happy! No worries, I will continue this story, I'm having too much fun! And I promise, there will be more Jean and Scott to come.

**A Lost Soul -** whoa! Who said anything about killing? Well, you'll just have to tell Wolverine that he'll be suffering from a bad case of tough luck! Oh and, by the way, I was the one who took your cookies, Pyro enjoyed them very much. (cue in evil cackle)

**GreyGryph -** Never fear, my ever insane Freundin! This story has a long road ahead of it! But, you should know that! You're a horrible friend! Did you seriously think that I would just leave it like this? Okay, well, maybe, BUT SERIOUSLY!

**Diaz F -** NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! DON'T GO! Wait, that was a threat, wasn't it? I love you (platonically)!

**Dory Shotgun -** Thank you! Happiness abounds! I hope that was a clear enough answer for you.

**Liliput83 -** Oh! You're back! How cool! Hope you're liking what's happening.

**Lily - **Were you actually asking me to change the character's name in the middle of the story? Hmm, I've never had a request like that before. Anyway, Gwen is not her real name. Her name really is Jade, I mentioned that in one of the earlier chapters . . . Just as a reassurance, I will not be using the name Gwen throughout the whole fic.Remus is Mine - Don't you hate it? Absolutely terrible. Sorry about the late update, I hope you liked it!

**Ikchen -** Oh yay! New reviewer! Thank you for your nice comment! Are you German? Just curious, I read your bio and got really excited because I'm in my third year of German and was simply wondering . . .


	13. Chapter 12: Taking Things Too Far

Disclaimer: I own Gwen and her story, that is all.

A/N: I hope you guys liked that last chapter. I will now be incorporating the first film into the story a lot more (it's only taken me, what, two years?) I promise there will be many more dealings with Jean and Scott, along with Bobby and John, in chapters to come. Due to the extreme lateness of this posting (my pathetic excuse can be found below), I decided to give you guys a long chapter - Enjoy!

* * *

The next morning was hell. Gwen had nearly passed out from lack of sleep at least four times and her disinterest in the day's history lesson was not making the situation any better. She had gotten only an hour or two of sleep the night before because she had spent much of the night listening to and comforting a very crestfallen Rogue. Storm seemed to notice Gwen's exhaustion from her place before the students, though did not want to call any unwanted attention to the student.

Gwen rolled her eyes to a fixed position on the clock. Class was almost over, a fifteen minute break was soon to come. The secound hand taunted Gwen, reminding her that time moves too slowly. She attempted to listen to Storm's lecture on the lands conquered by Rome in the height of its empire, but could barely keep her mind focused long enough on a single thought to focus on the lesson.

Though it had felt like an eternity, the bell finally rang. To Gwen, it was a choir of angels led by the greatest Seraphim known in heaven. She grabbed her books and ran towards the door. There were fifteen blessed minutes for her to sleep before her next class. She blew past her classmates; not caring about the looks she received after elbowing the twelfth person in a row. Reaching her room, she slammed the door behind her, threw the books on the floor and toppled onto the bed. Sleep took her.

Fifteen minutes later, a familiar and otherwise friendly voice echoed in Rogue's ears - _'I think it would be easier on your own . . . You should go.' _She fought the tears that were welling up in her eyes. She felt as though she had been stabbed in the back, and the knife was only digging deeper. She walked briskly through the mansion, ignoring the bell for fourth period. She wound her way through the halls, her own intentions clear only to her.

Gwen shot out of her room, books in hand. She was still half-asleep, and her hair was a mess, but she was going to make it - or so she hoped. She turned down the hall and sprinted. Turning another corner, she stopped in her tracks. Staring down the hall, Gwen noticed one solitary person walking down the hall towards her. Rogue's head was limp on her shoulders, almost as if she was crying. Gwen slowly walked across the hall to intercept Rogue; "What's up?"

"Nothing."

Gwen adjusted her angle in an attempt to look Rogue in the eye, Rogue moved so this was impossible; "You sure?"

Rogue nodded.

"Do you want me to get Storm, or the profess - "

"God, no." Rogue interrupted, Gwen noticed that her eyes were very red; "Just lay off, okay? Walk away and _leave me the hell alone_!"

Rogue pushed past Gwen, clearly angered. Gwen ran after her, unfazed, she had been threw worse threats at her former school; "Rogue! What the hell is going on!"

In one swift motion, Rogue swung around to face Gwen, her bare hand just about touching Gwen's face. Gwen backed off, her hands up, "Rogue, - "

"I don't care." Rogue cried, "I just _don't care_ anymore."

"Where are you going!"

Rogue glared at Gwen. Gwen slowly backed away. Without another word, Rogue replaced the brown glove over her long, pale fingers and walked away. Gwen simply stood in the middle of the hallway, watching Rogue go away. Though it took her a moment, Gwen eventually continued on her way to class.

Again, it was hard to pay attention in her English class. Gwen was only focused on what was wrong with Rogue. She didn't understand. Rogue seemed to be better this morning. What was up with her? It didn't make any sense to Gwen, but, then again, she _was_ extremely tired. After suffering through fourth and fifth period, Gwen went back to her dorm to try and talk to Rogue during lunch. Much to Gwen's dismay, the room was empty.

"Shit."

Gwen threw her books down on her bed and left the room as empty as she had entered it. She started walking, hoping that her feet would lead to Rogue, while her mind tried to figure out where she could be.

"Hey."

Gwen looked up, hopeful, and sighed. She had hoped that the voiced which had interrupted her thoughts, though clearly masculine, belonged to Rogue. She was, naturally, disappointed.

"John," Gwen said, getting straight to her objective, "have you seen Rogue recently?"

"No, I haven't. Not recently. Sorry." John replied, "Something wrong?"

"Possibly," Gwen replied, continuing on her search, "I'll talk to you later."

John ran after her, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine. I have to go."

"What's up?"

Gwen stopped and rolled her eyes; "And you said that I was stubborn?"

John smirked, "Well, it's true."

"Are you sure you haven't seen Rogue? _At all_?"

"Come to think of it, I did see her and Bobby talking during break outside. That was the last time though."

Gwen's eyes widened, then quickly narrowed, "That little bastard."

"Huh?"

"Do you know where Ice-boy is now?"

"He was looking for your mystery girl last time I saw him."

Gwen walked away, leaving a rather confused John behind. Gwen wasn't looking for Rogue anymore, she was on a mission to find Bobby.

It did not take her too long to find him in the halls, searching as well. Gwen walked straight at him, her eyes narrowing.

"Gwen!" Bobby said, noticing Gwen walking towards him, "Have you seen Rogue? I was supposed to . . . Gwen?"

Gwen came right up to the boy and trust her hands against his chest, knocking him back a couple feet; "You fucking son of a bitch!"

"Whoa, Gwen. What's wrong?"

"Like you don't know, you little bastard."

"Holy shit! What is going on? Did I miss something?"

"Where is she!" Gwen screamed, "Where is Rogue!"

"How the hell should I know! I'm looking for her too!" he yelled back, "She was supposed to meet me for lunch."

"What did you do to her?"

"Gwen! Listen to me! I have no idea what you are talking about!"

Gwen wouldn't hear any of it. She was so mad she couldn't control herself. She knew he had done something, but he was pulling the good boy act and not giving in.

"What did you say to her?" Gwen insisted, glaring at the boy in the eye.

"Gwen, I haven't seen, much less spoken to, Rogue since third period!"

Gwen shoved him again, "You're a fucking liar!"

"How the hell would you know!"

"John said he saw you talking to her during break!" Gwen yelled, "What - did - you - say - to - her!"

"I didn't _say anything _to her!" Bobby yelled back, getting into Gwen's face. She tried to push him again, but he grabbed her arms tightly, refusing to let go; "You want to know why? Hmm! I haven't seen Rogue since third period. I swear to God!"

Gwen struggled in his grasp, "You're a god-damned fucking liar. John said - "

"You know what! I don't give a shit what John said. I did not talk to Rogue during break. John saw someone else . . . or _he's_ the 'god-damned fucking liar'."

Gwen broke from his grasp. She had two different, conflicting stories. She had no idea which one to go with, but was too angry to pick. Without warning, her anger began to boil up inside of her, and took control.

Gwen threw Bobby back again, putting all of her weight into her actions; "You're a lying son of a bitch!" she screamed. Just as Bobby was recovering his footing, Gwen's ring-covered fist came flying towards his face.

In one swift motion, Bobby threw his own hand up, catching Gwen's fist and unconsciously freezing it. There was an immense amount of pain at the impact, and Bobby silently prayed that she hadn't broken anything. Gwen, even more pissed now, refused to give up the fight. Blinded by her anger, she brought her other arm back, preparing for the chance to smash Bobby's face in, when suddenly there was strong hand pressing against her shoulder, forcing her away from Bobby. She felt Bobby's freezing cold hand release her own. Breathing heavily, she slowly opened her fist. It was a rather bright shade of blue.

"Now," a voice said above her head, "Somebody want to tell me what the hell is going on here?"

"Just a little conflict, that's all." Bobby said.

Gwen looked up. The man standing between her and Bobby was glaring at the both of them, clearly fuming. Looking closer, Gwen realized that it was the man from the night before who had stabbed Rogue. This man looked at Bobby with skepticism; "A _little_ conflict, eh? Over _what_!"

Gwen looked at Bobby, who was trying to come up with some sort of explanation; "Um . . . "

"I was looking for someone." Gwen intervened, "I thought he knew where she was."

"So you tried to punch him . . . ?"

"I was upset, and angry," Gwen explained, "I thought he knew where she was, though he said he didn't."

"Who were you looking for?" the man asked.

"Another student, named Rogue."

The man froze when Gwen said Rogue's name. He knew something was wrong - he had to find her; "Are you sure she's not here?"

"Yeah," Gwen said, as if it was the stupidest question he could have asked.

"Damn it." the man muttered, then turned away.

Gwen and Bobby looked at one another, then watched the man run down the hall. Gwen knew that something bad was happening, or was about to happen. Her anger turned to worry, and she hated it. "I can't handle this." Gwen said to no one in particular. Without even thinking, Gwen started to follow the man down the hall.

"Gwen, what are you doing?"

"At least I'm doing something." she replied just before becoming invisible. She continued down the hall, following the man's trail. She ran after him, assuming that he was going for the professor. He was too fast for her to keep up with, much to Gwen's disappointment. She soon lost him through the various halls of the mansion. Loosing everything at once, Gwen screamed at the top of her lungs, and dropped to the floor in one great big heap. She could cared less what people were thinking; to her, it felt as if the world was on top of her, cutting off her air, suffocating her, killing her . . . Something really terrible was about to happen, and there was nothing she could do, or, at least that it what she came to the conclusion of. And then came the tears.

* * *

Another A/N: Oh dear lord, sorry for the late update. I, unfortunately, have no good excuses this time . . . Except that I was abducted by aliens and experimented on! Seriously! They turned me into a rat! . . . I got, um, cough better though . . .

**Lauren Grant -** Wow! Thank you for such nice comments! That was so kind of you! I hope you liked this chapter!

**ME (a.k.a. Black's Daughter) -** Thank you! I'm glad you like the character and story! That makes me happy! I hope you're enjoying the Jean and Scott stuff!

**A Lost Soul -** Oh, right, ha ha, I knew that, no really, I did . . . Anyhoo, how the hell did you get the recipe! Were you snooping about? And how the hell did you steal Pyro? That is definitely not allowed! (makes evil face) On a lighter note, eventually Gwen will found out, but until then - patience is a virtue, my dear friend (who steals my cookies and Pyro)! You come back again, I enjoy these little talks. (Yes, I did steal that from Edna in the Incredibles, so the asses at Pixar can sue me - they stole my character! Bitches!)

**GreyGryph -** Isn't Time a bastard? (and yes, he is a really old bastard) Damn I hate him so much . . . Yay! You're proud of me! You know, I would find these feelings mutual if you did a little thing called UPDATING every once in a great while! See you later!

**Diaz F -** YAY! You don't hate me! I'm so happy! And you were the first to review! Yay, I'm happy now.

**Liliput83 -** Oh, you're good. It's true, they did not get that chance to talk. I'm glad you liked the addition of the film. I may eventually get to X-2, but who knows. We shall have to wait and see ;-)

**Remus is Mine -** WOW! THAT WAS SO NICE! Thank you so very much! That review totally made my day! Oh gosh, wow, thank you!

**… -** Thank you so much!

**Dragon Spirit Fighter -** Why, thanks! Just a question though, how did Nightcrawler come in through the story? I didn't see the connection.

**Witchlight2037 -** Wow, you're so into the story! That makes me incredibly happy! Sorry for the update, the spring musical got in my way. Hope you enjoyed!

**Cynic11 -** OMG! That makes me so amazingly happy! Wow, thank you so much. I will most definitely be continuing with this story, never fear! It just takes me a long time. Thanks again! I hope you liked the update!


	14. Chapter 13: Her Salvation

Disclaimer: I own Gwen and her story, that is all.

A/N: Thank you guys for your wonderful reviews! As always, they are very encouraging. Sorry, again, for the incredible delay. This chapter was in need of some serious love, and I mean desperate need. So, once again, I have given you guys another long chapter - six pages. Now, onto the fic!

* * *

Darkness slowly sunk in around her. Her world grew colder with every passing minute. She was falling deeper and deeper into a place where there was no return. She couldn't move, and her breathing was so light that it seemed as though she had stopped altogether. She was still in the hallway, moving only to lean her sullen body against the wall. Her brain had stopped functioning as the emotional weight grew heavier on her shoulders. She felt as though everything was slipping between her fingers like sand, and was unable to stop it. Sighing for the umpteenth time, Gwen dropped her head between her knees, her long, black hair becoming a mask to cover her face.

She had a gut-wrenching feeling that something terrible had happened. It felt like a rock just sitting in the pit of her stomach that kept getting heavier by the secound. _'This is it.' _a voice inside her head rang, _'You knew that no happiness would come to you here. Why do you stay?'_

Gwen was doubting herself, though it wasn't the first time. She hated the fork she was at: which road to take? Either way she decided to take lead to a place she dared not to venture into. She was trapped with no clear way to maneuver herself free.

"You know why I stay."

'You stay for a false sense of security. For a home that doesn't exist.'

"No,"

'Oh? Everything you thought was here has disappeared . . . '

"No . . . " Gwen whispered. Even when she thought she had cried her last tear, they began to build up in her eyes once more, this time for a different cause.

'Everything here has left you behind . . . '

"You're wrong . . . " Gwen said, her voice quavering. The tears were beginning to flood over, and cascade down her fair cheeks.

'Everything here has . . . **died** . . . '

"NO!" Gwen cried. She was sobbing now, knowing perfectly well that all was lost. She did want to hear anymore. She didn't want to hear what she already knew to be the truth. She couldn't handle the truth; she didn't want to.

'Gwen, listen,'

"I - can't." Gwen whispered so only she could hear.

'Gwen . . . '

"No - "

'Gwen . . . "

"Go . . . a - way . . . " she said, suddenly feeling short of breath.

"Gwen!"

"No, please . . . " Gwen answered, finding her ability to breathe harder with every syllable.

"Gwen!"

"Go . . . " She was sinking deeper and deeper into her sorrow, her abandon. Her vision growing darker and darker. She felt as though this was it: this was the end. She had only one thought drifting though her mind: 'Thank you.'

"GWEN!"

Gwen's head jolted upwards,instantly beginningto throb heavily. Something, or someone, had brought her back from the depths, from the darkness. A hand had reached into the place where lost souls roam and pulled her back into life. She turned to see who belonged to that hand, only to have her eyes betray her. Old battles, old wounds resurfaced, her vision turning grey and hazy once again. She could distinguish a figure before her, but nothing more. Her surroundings were nothing more than masses of grey. She slowly reached out her hand, just to reassure herself that someone was there.

There was contact. A hand met hers in the middle, the fingers lacing between her own.

"Who - " she tried to say, but the rest of the words fell from her voice, slipping into oblivion.

The young man before her did not respond. He knelt down and lifted her sullen arm over his shoulders. He helped her onto her feet, his warm touch a welcome sensation against her frozen flesh. Slowly, he aided her down the hall, his strong arms gently keeping her balanced as she passed between the realms of perception and nothingness. Any bystander could have seen that she was not herself. She had been drowning in her sorrow, in her woe. And yet a strength came to her in the darkness. He had become her rock, her redeemer, her beacon. He would never know how much that simple act would mean to her.

He brought her to her dorm, setting her down upon her bed without a word to her dorm-mates. Three girls stared in alarm at the weak figure that had slumped over the yellow sheets. Though a thousand questions ran through their minds simultaneously, they were too stunned to speak. He turned to them, a dark fire blazing behind his narrowed eyes; "Get out." was all he said. Nothing more was needed. After a momentary pause, the girls stood and walked over to the door, looking back at the scene over their shoulders. He watched them as they exchanged troubled glances, then left with out a word.

The teen gingerly brought his lean form down next to Gwen's. Brushing her dark hair out of her face and removing her sunglasses, he looked at her ashen face shining from her fallen tears. He wanted to help her, yet he could not find the courage to do so. This was the first time in his life that he was actually scared of confronting someone, especially a girl. Where was he to begin? She was so distant, so sealed off, that the chances of her opening up to anyone were slim, least of all him. Why should she? These people were complete strangers to her. _He_ was a complete stranger to her.

Sighing, he stood to leave, but stopped mid-step. For some reason he had a strong desire for her to know that he had been there, that he had helped her, even saved her. He turned around, his eyes falling on her face once more. He walked over and leaned down above her. He slowly brought hiswarm lips to her forehead and kissed her.

Straightening up, he slipped his hand into his pocket and brought out a small object. He held it in his hand, the light from the setting sun reflecting off of it. In one swift motion, John set the item down on Gwen's nightstand and left the room.

> > > > > > > >

The school had long been blanketed in darkness by the time that Gwen woke. She sat up, and looked around. Light from the hallway illuminated the room. She yawned, wondering how she had worked up enough strength to make the way to her dorm.

Her dorm!

When did she get there? She tried to remember back, but much of her memory was grey and fuzzy. She remembered Bobby, and the man from the next room, but little else. Wait - she remembered a hand. A hand coming through the darkness to take her away; but whose hand was it? It could have been anyone's. But why would have anyone wanted to help her? Who would do that?

Gwen slid her legs over the edge of her bed, her eyes falling on the digital clock that hung on the opposite wall. It's bright red numbers read 8:19. The time was passing before her, never to return. Heaving a sigh, Gwen stood and headed out into the hallway. The corridor was brightly lit, giving Gwen an instant headache. She gave her eyes time to grow accustomed to the light, allowed the headache to pass, then moved on down the hall.

She moved through the halls with any sound. She did not know where she was going, but followed her feet. Her thoughts fell on earlier, and her worries grew. Where was Rogue? Was she okay? Had she returned? That man who had broken up her and Bobby before had clearly been as worried as Gwen, but why? Had he known something that she did not? Gwen sighed; of course he knew more she, why else would he have run off like that? The only thing she could do now was hope that Rogue would be okay.

Suddenly numerous voices reached her ear. Normally, raised voices would have barely even registered in her mind, she _had _come from an orphanage, but for some reason she stopped. Listening closely, she followed the voices until she pin-pointed their location. It wasn't until she took a look around that she realized where her feet had lead her - right outside her first room at the school: Professor Xavier's office.

" . . . mutation is unnatural. Kelly's body is rejecting it. His cells began to break down almost immediately." a female voice said, a worried tone carrying her words. Gwen recognized the voice as Dr. Grey's.

"What effect does it have on mutants?" a male voice asked.

"There appears to be none." a voice Gwen instantly knew to be the professor's answered, "But I fear it will do serious harm to any normal human exposed to it."

"So, what does he want with Rogue?"

Now Gwen's attention was solely on the conversation taking place inside that office. Those people inside knew what had happened to Rogue - where she was, why she was gone, everything. Quickly checking to make sure no one was lurking around in the hallway, Gwen turned invisible and continued listening.

"I don't know." the professor replied. Unconsciously, Gwen's shoulder's slumped. The weight that had been dragging her down all afternoon suddenly felt even heavier.

'They don't know anything.' she thought, _'They are just as much in the dark as I am. Dammit!'_

she thought, 

"Wait," a voice stated. Gwen realized that it was Mr. Summers; "You said that the machine draws its power from Magneto, and that it weakened him."

"Yes, in fact . . . it nearly killed him . . . " the professor said. Gwen could hear the comprehension in his words. To the professor, everything was coming together, but Gwen was still stuck in the dark. Who was Magneto? What was his machine? What did it do to nearly kill him?

Gwen's thoughts were interrupted by the voice of the man from that afternoon and the night before, "He's going to transfer his power to Rogue . . . and use her to power the machine."

"WHAT!" Gwen cried, then quickly covered her mouth. She was lucky that no one could hear her, _'What the hell do they mean 'use her to power the machine'?'_

But before she had any more time to react, the very distinct sound of hurried footfalls rang in her ears. Looking up, Gwen spotted Storm running down the corridor at breakneck speed as the conversation continued on inside. There was no doubt in Gwen's mind as to where her history teacher was sprinting to.

The voices inside the office were suddenly getting louder and the people angrier. Gwen could definitely make out Mr. Summers' voice the best: "Professor, I'm sorry, but he'll endanger the mission. He'll . . . "

"Hey, I wasn't the one to give the train station a new sun roof, pal."

"No, you were the one who stabbed Rogue through the chest."

"Look, why don't you take your little mission and shove it up your - "

Looking up, Gwen found that Storm was practically on top of her. Gwen backed away as Storm rushed towards the professor's office and threw open the door; "Senator Kelly is dead."

_'Senator Kelly?'_ Gwen thought to herself,_ 'That bastard trying to get the Mutant Registration Act passed? What is he doing here, of all places? How did he die?'_

Curiosity getting the better of her, Gwen peaked into the office. Everyone inside was silent for a moment, shocked at the news. The professor looked livid. Gwen had never seen him so mad before, but then again, she'd never seen him angry.

"I'm going to find her." the professor said coldly, then looked to Mr. Summers, then to that man from before and back to Mr. Summers; "I want this settled, but you willhave to deal with our company outside first."

Horror-struck, Gwen froze up. How could she have been so stupid? The professor was a telepath! Why did think that she was able to cloak herself from everyone in that room? God-fucking-dammit! He had probably known she'd been there the entire time.

The man from that afternoon came towards the door with a look of utter fury on his harsh face; "Who's out there?" he roared. Gwen remained silent, quietly fearing for her life. Not getting an answer, the man threw his fists out to his sides. Much to Gwen's already terror-ridden self, long, sharp metal claws ejected from his knuckles. Raising one of his fists, he trust is straight towards Gwen's face -

"Oh shit!" Gwen said, becoming visible again and raising her hands in surrender all within a matter a secounds, if that; "Please, for Christ's sake, don't kill me!"

The claws stopped just inches before her nose. Several sighs and other unhappy sounds came from the people inside.

"Gwen?" Storm asked. Gwen could not make out the emotions behind her teacher's voice, but she was more focused on the steel claws in her face; "Gwen, what are you doing?"

"I was worried about Rogue - " Gwen began.

"What do you want?" the man said.

Without even thinking Gwen answered, but immediately realized what kind of a request she was making: "To help."

"What?" Storm asked.

Gwen cautiously brought her finger onto one of the man's very sharp, and very shiny, claws and pushed his hand down very slowly, she did not want to make him any madder than he already was; "Let me go with you. Let me help you get Rogue back."

"Gwen," Storm said very calmly, "you don't understand what is happening here - "

"I understand that Rogue is in trouble. That's all I need to know. Let me help you save her."

Several blank stares came her way.

"Look, I know that I'm not very powerful, but if Rogue is in serious trouble she will need a friend there for her. Let me help her."

Silence. The adults all exchanged glances. None of them wanted to risk bringing Gwen along, but they also realized what kind of an asset her invisibility could be.

"Please! Just let me go! I could be your secret weapon or something!"

Apparently, the adults weren't the only ones thinking ahead.

* * *

Another A/N: That's it folks. Next chapter is when things start to get really exciting! In other news, I have finally reached the pinnacle of my life - I received my first flame for this fic. Normally, I would be kind of annoyed to get a flame, but after getting passed the lack of grammar and the horrible spelling, I realized how dumb this person really is. If you don't believe me, read the review by **hmm **for chapter six. It has to be the stupidest thing I have ever read in my life.

**ME (a.k.a. Black's Daughter) -** I promise, Scott and Jean are coming up. The next few chapters are going to be rather intense, so there won't a lot of interaction, but there will be some! I swear to you!

**A Lost Soul -** Did you call me a LIAR? That was uncalled for! Anyhoo, you actually wanted her to beat him up? That could probably be arranged for sometime in the future. Possibly. John is also an open option for a beating, we'll have to see. Sorry about the late update, but hey, you can forgive me, right? Right? . . . Please? BTW, did you JUST realize that I am a freak? I thought one might have noticed by now.

**GreyGryph -** Doll face, you are ALWAYS on cold meds. That is what makes you so much fun to be around. And trust me, death has tried, and tried . . . and tried some more . . . to get rid of that bastard, but he won't budge . . .

**Diaz F -** YAY! You like me again! I'm so pleased! Thank you for your wonderful comments!

**Remus is Mine -** Again, thank you so much. In response to your questions, you should follow the movie timeline to discern what happened and where Rogue is . . .

**… -** Thank you! Sorry, I suck at updating quickly.

**Witchlight2037 -** Thank you! No, nothing special happens when she cries and no, it does not tie into her power. She is just crying. Sorry to disappoint you. But, yay! I'm so excited by your enthusiasm for the fic! Never fear, there will be some interaction between Gwen and Scott and Jean, but you will have to wait for a little while longer.

**Cynic11 -** It was a very intense chapter, and the next chapters are just going to get worse. Thank you for your lovely comments! That makes me feel very confident! I hope you like how I tied the fic in with the movie.

**Cobra Rigoletti -** She will find out about her parents, keine angst (no worries). But you will have to wait. Like I told A Lost Soul, patience is a virtue. For whatever reason, she did not believe me. Oh well. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.


	15. Chapter 14: The Beginning of the End

Disclaimer: I own Gwen and her story, the rest belongs to the genius of Stan Lee.

A/N: You guys already know that I am a dork (okay, A Lost Soul, a FREAK, you win) and quite obsessed with X-Men, so it will not completely shock you to hear that I have been reading up on the disaster that is X-Men 3. Just in case you don't know, the movie is now on its third director, Nightcrawler will not be coming back, and the writers are using Juggernaught as the bad guy, not the Sentinels, which they should be using. God bloody damn it. At least they got Halle Berry to come back as Storm. This movie is going to be me into an early grave, I swear.

* * *

Gwen shifted uncomfortably on the hardwood floor of the corridor. She had been sitting there for some twenty or so odd minutes, just waiting. Professor Xavier and the others had all disappeared through a rather cleverly concealed elevator in the wall, leaving Gwen behind. She had not received a positive or negative response to her plea when she was instructed to sit and wait. That was all. Gwen hadn't heard a word since then. For all she knew, they could have already left without her.

She was beginning to get restless. Rogue was out there in who knows what kind of condition, and they were sitting down there doing nothing. She started turning her shades around and around in her hands. She simply couldn't shake the feeling that Rogue wasn't the only one in trouble.

-

The slow, steady beep echoed in Jean Grey's mind. She couldn't handle this. Not now. She couldn't help but question everything as she looked down upon the motionless body of the professor. Something had gone horribly wrong in Cerebro, but how? Who could have gotten in?

The answer was all too clear. Who else would have exclusive knowledge of the inner workings of Cerebro? Magneto. He had helped the professor build the machine, and was now using it against him. _'He must have sent Mystique in.' _Jean assumed to herself, _'She's the only one who could have gotten in unnoticed. She had to have tampered with Cerebro somehow.'_

"I'm sorry."

Jean looked up. Logan had turned and started to leave, a his eyes subdued with a air of guilt. Jean cast her gaze towards Cyclops, whose mixed emotions were hard to overlook. Jean took a deep breath, "I should go figure out what happened." she said quietly. Storm turned to her and nodded. Cyclops did not respond.

"I'll go talk to Gwen, explain what happened," Storm replied.

"No." Jean said, "I think she should be left behind. She has no idea what she's tried to get into. It's not safe."

Storm looked to Scott, then down to the professor. She sighed. The whole situation was frustrating and stressful enough, but with the professor out of the picture, it had gotten a whole lot worse. She took Jean out into the hallway where the florescent lights reflected off of the white walls, leaving Scott alone with the professor.

"Storm, I won't take the risk of bringing Gwen along." Jean insisted as the door closed behind her, "There is already one student in danger, why do you want to risk another's life?"

"Jean, do you think I want to put her in danger? Why would you think that? I would never do that. But Gwen could be," Storm paused. She knew that she was on dangerous ground, but it was ground that had to be covered. Jean's eyes gave Storm a look of staggering intensity. Jean clearly did not want Gwen to come. Scott, too, had expressed uncertainty on the issue of bringing Gwen, no matter the teen's mutation that could have been a considerable asset to the mission.

"Gwen could be what?" Jean inquired.

"She's waiting, Jean." Storm replied quietly, backing away, "I'm sorry."

Storm understood the great risk she was taking, and, contrary to Jean's beliefs, Storm was not pleased with her decision to allow Gwen to come. The problem was that if the girl was informed that she would not be coming, she would probably have found a way to stow aboard the Blackbird in an effort to help her friend. With a sigh and a shake of her white locks, Storm stepped into the elevator.

-

Gwen looked up at the sound of the elevator drawing nearer. She was uncertain of how she had heard it approaching, due to the machine's silent movements, but shot to her feet once she heard it come to a halt next to her. Her head instantly stung with pain and her vision went all grey. Gwen could just barely make out the shape of Storm emerging from the elevator.

"Storm, is everything okay?" Gwen asked, wasting no time, "I've been getting even more worried just sitting up here."

Storm placed a gentle hand on Gwen's shoulder; "Gwen, are you alright?"

Gwen attempted a reassuring smile - a difficult task in her indignant and frustrated state; "Just a headache, I'll live. What is going on?" Storm took a deep breath. Gwen knew all too well that that was a bad sign; "Rogue - is she okay?"

"We don't know." Storm replied, her eyes looking crestfallen. "Gwen, something has happened to the professor."

"What!" Gwen exclaimed, "But how? Who could have gotten to the professor? What happened!"

"We're not sure, but Gwen, please do not panic." Storm explained, "Jean is examining Cerebro right now."

"Cerebro? What is that?" Gwen insisted, "_What the hell happened to the professor!"_

Storm sighed again; it was hard for the teen to control her emotions, that much was apparent; "His mind has been poisoned."

Gwen sunk back against the wall. She had no idea how the professor's mind could have been poisoned or who would have poisoned it, but she knew that, whatever had happened, it had not been good.

"Oh my god." Gwen said, almost to herself. She looked up to Storm, "And Rogue?"

"We're still going after her." Storm replied, beckoning Gwen to follow her into the elevator, "And you're coming with us."

-

Gwen could practically smell the tension surrounding her as she strapped herself into her seat. Paranoia was slowly creeping in. The world suddenly seemed darker, and it wasn't due to the late hour. Gwen wiped her hands on her pant legs in a desperate effort to rid her self of the sweat that seemed to be pouring from her palms. There were butterflies in her stomach. She was fighting off the urge to throw up.

The plan was clear. The "X-Men", as they had referred to themselves, were going to go in, find Rogue, and get her out as quickly as possible. If they should come across anyone (in other words, get attacked), Gwen should go invisible - fast. If, for some reason, that fell through, she would have to find some place to hide.

Like hell.

The last thing Gwen was going to do was hide when Rogue's life was on the line. She knew how to fight back. She'd taken a martial arts class, at Bea's insistence. Granted, she had taken it several years earlier and remembered very little, but punching was just as reliable to her as kicking was.

The sound of a zipper broke her thoughts. Gwen turned her gaze towards the claw guy, whose name turned out to be Logan, a.k.a. "Wolverine". (_'Where do they come up with these names?' _Gwen had thought, _'First Storm and Cyclops, then Rogue and Pyro, now Wolverine?'_) The guy had not stopped toying with the zipper of his black leather uniform since he had gotten on the jet, and it was starting to get on her final nerve.

"You guys actually go out in these things?" he asked, pulling up his zipper one final time.

Mr. "Cyclops" Summers fiddled with some buttons and controls in the front seat; "What would you prefer - yellow spandex?" he asked with a sigh, and a hint of sarcasm.

Gwen snickered as she tried to envision Wolverine, the butchest man she'd ever seen, in a yellow spandex unitard. With a shake of her head, she cleared her mind of the disturbing image.

Dr. Grey turned in her seat to look at Gwen. The woman gave a diminutive smile. Gwen smiled back, but could not shake the feeling that she knew the woman behind that smile, and that she had known Mr. Summers from before. Every time she saw him, she felt an even stronger sensation in the pit of her stomach that she had met him, for a little while at least. She was certain, though, that she would have remembered someone who shared the infinitive curse of wearing sunglasses. But in what way was that possible?

'There's a way . . . ' the voice in the back of her mind taunted her.

"There's the bridge," Gwen heard Mr. Summers say, breaking her train of thought, "Storm, some cover, please."

Right on cue, a thick layer of fog rolled in as the jet sped underneath the bridge. Gwen found it difficult to suppress the "Whoa . . . " as it spilled from her lips. Mr. Summers reached above his head and flipped a switch, turning on the infrared scanner in the front windows. After a secound or two, the Statue of Liberty came into view.

Mr. Summers and Storm slowly brought the jet in right next to the monument, hovering over the water by about fifteen feet. Cyclops flipped a few switches, shutting all of the power to the jet, allowing the aircraft to fall into the water.

"Sorry."

"You call that a landing?" Wolverine asked.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" Gwen demanded, "We'll sink!"

"You underestimate us." Mr. Summers said as he passed Gwen, heading into the middle of the jet and opening a hatch in the roof. Gwen quickly unbuckled herself and followed them through the hatch and onto Liberty Island. Much to her amazement, and defying all logic, the jet was floating on the surface of the water. Turning away from the gravity (and physics) defying aircraft and back to the statue, Gwen looked up. Though she had been to the Statue of Liberty numerous times during her twelve years of school, she had never really _looked_ at the statue - after all, she wasn't a tourist. But that night, in the lights eminating from Ellis Island, Lady Liberty looked almost anxious, worried, like she was warning Gwen of what was to come.It was as if she was telling Gwen to turn back and walk away with what was left of her life. Gwen shook her head.

She wasn't going anywhere.

* * *

Another A/N: Wow, you guys. I love you all so much. Over 100 reviews! Never did I think that this fic would get that many! I love you guys so much! Thank you for your continual reading. On to Thank You's:

**ME (a.k.a. Black's Daughter) - **Thank you! I will try to update faster now that it is summer break.

**A Lost Soul -** Thank you! I'm not mad that you called me a liar, and I am quite used to being called a freak in everyday life, so that doesn't phase me. YAY! Pyro returns! I need to send you more cookies . . . And Cobra Rigoletti doesn't believe me about patience. Geez, you people!

**GreyGryph -** Thank you, dear Insanity. You kind words are music to my ears. Okay, maybe not, but whatever. I will try to update faster, no really, I will!

**Remus is Mine -** See? I can be logical if I put my mind to it.

**… -** Oh praise the gods above! A reviewer who won't kill me for updating slowly:begins to bow before reviewer: May the gods bless you with many happy years! Plus, you are my 100th reviewer! That's even more brownie points for you. Here, have some cookies!

**Witchlight2037 -** Thank you so much! I'm glad you like the Gwen/John ship, I've gotten a lot of good responses about that so I'll more than likely expand upon it in the future. Best chapter? Really? Wow, and too think, it was complete crap before the rewrite (that's what took me so long to update).

**Cynic11 -** Oh, yay, I made someone's day! Goodie! Thank you for your comments about Gwen! I have lots of fun with her. I'm very pleased that she is coming across as believable to you guys. One satisfied customer (or reader) down! Bam . . . I will desperately try to update faster now that it is summer break, I promise. Please don't die of boredom!

**Cobra Rigoletti -** Wow, more impatient people! Oh boy . . . And I certainly hope that you believe that John was Gwen's 'mystery friend', since I said it was. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter, it was hell to write. I hope you like this chapter!

**hottietom -** Oh goodie! New blood! Thank you for your lovely words! That makes me smile! And thank you for the character! I will definitely use her, but she will have to come up when I get to X-2, which might take a while. But, thanks again!

**Crystal -** Never fear, there will be more John and Gwen in future chapters, and Gwen will eventually go by her real name, and she will most definitely find out about her parents. I have been thinking about these ideas since I started the fic - they are all integral parts to the story. So, you just have to be patient - like A Lost Soul.


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